N503 


BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 

<• 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE   MARTYRDOM 


OF 


JOSEPH  STANDING; 

OR,   THE 

Murder  of  a  "Mormon"  Missionary. 

A    TRUE  STORY. 


ALSO 

AN    APPENDIX, 

GIVING  A 

SUCGINT  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  UTAH  PENITENTIARY 

And  some  data  regarding  those  who  had,  up  to  date 
of   this  publication,  suffered    incarcera- 
tion through  the  operations  of  the 
anli-" Mormon"  Crusade 
begun  in  1884. 


WRITTEN   IN    PRISON 


BY    JOHN    T^ICHDLSQN,    /  8  *3  9  ~  I 


'A  Convict  for  Conscience  Sake.' 


cm, 


6-ot 


PREFACE. 


THE  narrative  which  forms  the  principal  fea- 
ture of  this  little  volume  was  penned  under  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  Such  a  condition  as  privacy 
has  practically  no  existence  in  the  Utah  Peniten- 
tiary. The  writing  was  therefore  done  by  snatches, 
in  the  midst  of  varied  and  almost  incessant  noises, 
in  the  eating  room,  bunk-house  or  yard,  as  occa- 
sion presented  or  necessity  demanded.  This  fact 
should  perhaps  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  any 
defects  it  may  contain.  The  story  has  one  good 
quality,  however — it  is  strictly  true.  On  that 
ground  it  is  with  pleasure  presented  to  the 

public  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  JOSEPH  STANDING. 

CHAPTER  I. 

How  the  Story  was  obtained. — Rudger  Clawson. — His  Na- 
tivity, Appearance  and  Characteristic*. — Conviction  and 
sentence.— First  Definition  of  "Unlawful  Cohabitation." 
—Speech  in  Court.— Punished  for  Belief.— Prison  Kxpe- 
rience.  Page  5 

CHAPTER  II. 

A  Mission  to  Georgia.— A  Dream  and  its  fulfilment.— A 
tramp  in  the  dark.— Entertained  by  Mr.  Hol.ston.— A 
sense  of  approaching  Danger.  12 

CHAPTER  III. 

Captured  by  a  howling  Mob.— Their  brutal  Threats  and  Con- 
duct.— Standing's  Manner  and  Expostulations.— lludger 
receives  a  Blow. — Honest  Owensby  and  his  Horse. — A 
heroic  Girl.— Scene  of  the  Murder.— "Shoot  that  Man."— 
Horrible  Spectacle.  — "  This  is  terrible.1'  17 

CHAPTER   IV. 

A  terror-incited  Run.— A  cold-blooded  Woodchopper.— Rud- 
ger starts  for  Catoosa.— He  confronts  a  startling  Danger. 
—What  was  done  at  Catoosa.— Significant  Correspond- 
ence.—Holston  visits  the  body.— A  fresh  horror  for 
Rudger.— The  Inquest.  31 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER   V. 

A  Friend  in  need.— A  sad  Procession.— Rndger's  melan- 
choly Task.— Arrival  of  the  Officers  of  the  Law.— Dif- 
ficulties met  in  preparing  the  Body  for  transporta- 
tion.—The  arrival  Home.  Page  45 

CHA?TER   VI. 

Rudger  returns  to  Georgia  in  the  capacity  of  a  Witness. — 
Holston's  Peril.— How  the  Murderers  were  captured.— 
The  Trial.  —  Attendant  Circumstances.— The  Result.— 
Rudger  returns  Home. — Memento  of  tim  young 
Martyr.  54 


APPENDIX. 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Utah  Penitentiary,  Enclosure  and  Buildings.  79 

CHAPTER  II. 
Officers.— Prison  Fare.— Discipline.  93 

CHAPTER  III. 

Those  who  have  been  Incarcerated  for  conscience'  sake.— 
Their  Offense*,  Pleas,  and  Penalties. — Brief  Biographical 
Notes  and  Personal  References.  103 

CHAPTER   IV. 
Conclusion.  155 


THE 

Martyrdom  of  Joseph  Standing; 

OR,  THE 

MURDER  OF  A  "MORMON"  MISSIONARY, 


CHAPTER   I. 

How  the  Story  was  obtained.— Rudger  Clawson.— His  Na- 
tivity, Appearance  and  Characteristics.— Conviction  and 
sentence.— First  Definition  of  "Unlawful  Cohabitation." 
—Speech  in  Court.— Punished  for  Belief.— Prison  Expe- 
rience. 

'HE  author  was  among  the  more  early  vic- 
tims of  the  legal  raid  instituted  against 
the  Latter-day  Saints  under  the  "Edmunds  Act," 
which  prescribes  penalties  for  polygamy  and 
''unlawful  cohabitation." 

The  rule  in  the  courts  has  been,  when  a  man 
has  been  placed  in  jeopardy  for  the  latter  offense, 
to  inflict  the  full  penalty,  without  reference  to 
the  character  of  the  plea  or  other  mitigating  cir- 
cumstances, unless  he  made  a  pledge  to  the  judge 
in  relation  to  his  future  conduct. 


D  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

This  promise,  reduced  to  a  plain  statement  of 
the  situation,  requires  the  person  making  it  to 
repudiate  a  principle  of  his  religion  and  cast  a 
portion  of  his  family  adrift. 

Such  an  agreement  being  at  direct  variance 
with  our  conceptions  of  duty,  honor  and  integ- 
rity, we  declined  to  be  a  party  to  it. 

Having  been  previously  convicted  of  "unlawful 
cohabitation"  (living  with  and  supporting  our 
wives),  we  were,  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  October, 
1885,  sentenced  byliis  honor,  Chief  Justice  Zane, 
to  imprisonment  in  the  Utah  Penitentiary  for  six 
months  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $300  and  costs  of 
the  prosecution.  We  entered  the  penitentiary 
the  same  day. 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  present  a  relation  of 
personal  experience  while  in  prison,  but  the  fore- 
going brief  preliminary  statement  is  given  simply 
by  way  of  explanation  as  to  how  we  obtained  the 
particulars  of  the  tragic  story  which  constitutes 
the  chief  feature  of  this  volume. 

While  a  prisoner  we  had  an  excellent  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  intimately  acquainted  with 
Rudger  Clawson,  whom  we  have  learned  to  esteem 
and  respect,  on  account  of  some  sterling  qualities 
he  possesses.  Added  to  a  sound  understanding 
of  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  he  has  an  un- 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  7 

usual  degree  of  personal  courage,  both  moral  and 
physical,  and  integrity  from  which,  up  to  this 
time,  he  has  never  swerved. 

He  was  born  in  Salt  Lake  City,  on  the  twelfth 
of  March,  1857,  an  issue  of  plural  marriage,  being 
the  son  of  Hiram  B.  Clawson  and  Margaret  Gay 
Judd  Clawson. 

Rudger  is  slightly  under  medium  height,  and 
of  stout  build.  His  face  is  oval  shaped'  and  in- 
clined to  be  plump.  He  has  clear  grey  eyes;  the 
nose  is  somewhat  large,  and  has  a  tendency  toward 
the  Roman  type ;  sufficiently  so  to  give  the  impres- 
sion of  resoluteness.  This  feature  gives  a  stronger 
intimation  of  firmness  than  the  mouth,  which  is 
small,  the  lips  being  full  and  not  usually  closely 
compressed.  Although  he  is  in  his  thirtieth 
year,  his  appearance  is  more  youthful  than  that 
age  would  generally  denote. 

He  has  been  a  subject  of  considerable  interest 
in  the  community  of  Latter-day  Saints  and  else- 
where, on  account  of  being  conspicuously  con- 
nected with  some  circumstances  of  public  promi- 
nence. 

The  case  which  culminated  in  his  being  sent  to 
prison  for  a  term  of  four  years  was  the  initiatory 
one  under  the  Edmunds  Act,  consequently  he  was 
the  first  victim  of  the  present  anti-"Mormon"  raid. 


8  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

He  was  convicted  of  polygamy  and  unlawful 
cohabitation  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  October, 
1884.  On  the  first  and  more  important  count  he 
was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  three  years 
and  six  months,  and  to  pay  a  fine  of  $500,  and  on 
the  second  to  be  incarcerated  for  six  months  and 
to  pay  a  fine  of  $300,  the  whole  aggregating  a 
penalty  of  four  years  and  $800. 

In  charging  the  jury,  Judge  Zane  gave  his  first 
definition  of  what  constituted  "unlawful  cohabita- 
tion." He  stated  that  in  order  to  justify  a  verdict 
of  guilty  it  was  essential  that  the  evidence  should 
show  a  reasonable  probability  that  there  had  been 
sexual  commerce  between  the  defendant  and  his 
plural  wife.  The  flagrant  manner  in  which  he 
somersaulted  from  that  position  in  order  to  insure 
convictions  in  subsequent  cases  is  a  matter  of 
public  notoriety. 

When  the  judge  asked  the  defendant  on  the 
day  appointed  for  the  judgment  November  3, 1884, 
if  he  had  anything  to  say  why  sentence  should 
not  be  passed  upon  him,  Rudger  responded  thus : 
"Your  honor:  Since  the  jury  that  recently  sat 
on  my  case  have  seen  proper  to  find  a  verdict  of 
guilty,  I  have  only  this  to  say  why  judgment 
should  not  be  passed  upon  me : 

"I    very   much    regret  that  the  laws  of   my 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  9 

country  should  come  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of 
God;  but  whenever  they  do,  I  shall  invariably 
choose  to  obey  the  latter.  If  I  did  not  so  ex- 
press myself  I  should  feel  unworthy  of  the 
cause  I  represent.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  expressly  provides  that  Congress 
shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof. 
It  cannot  be  denied,  I  think,  that  marriage,  when 
attended  and  sanctioned  by  religious  rites  and 
ceremonies,  is  an  establishment  of  religion.  The 
anti-polygamy  law  of  1862  and  the  Edmunds  law 
of  1882  were  expressly  designed  to  operate  against 
marriage  as  believed  in  and  practiced  by  the 
Latter-day  Saints.  They  are  therefore  unconsti- 
tutional, and,  of  course,  cannot  command  the 
respect  that  constitutional  laws  would.  That  is 
all  I  have  to  say,  your  honor." 

In  the  subsequent  remarks  of  Judge  Zane  that 
official  said  that  every  man  had  the  right  to 
worship  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  con- 
science, and  to  entertain  any  belief  that  his 
reason  and  judgment  might  dictate. 

This  was  followed  by  this  flat  contradiction  of 
his  own  theory : 

"  You  violated  it  (the  Edmunds  Act),  as  you  say, 
with  the  understanding  that  you  had  a  right  to 


10  THE    MARTYRDOM    OF 

do  so  because  there  was  a  higher  law  by  which 
you  govern  your  conduct.  That  being  so,  it 
makes  the  case  somewhat  aggravated  * 
I  confess  that  I  should  have  felt  inclined  to 
fix  the  punishment  smaller  than  I  shall  were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that  you  openly  declare  that  you 
believe  it  is  right  to  violate  the  law,  in  that  you 
believe  you  are  right  in  doing  it." 

Thus  was  the  proposition  that  belief  and  wor- 
ship were  exempt  from  legal  punatory  process, 
practically  controverted  by  the  judgment  of  the 
functionary  who  expounded  it.  The  defendant 
received  a  heavier  punishment  on  account  of  his 
belief;  consequently  all  that  part  of  the  penalty 
that  was  in  excess  of  what  would  have  been 
inflicted  in  the  absence  of  a  certain  belief  was 
imposed  because  of  its  presence  in  the  mind  of 
the  defendant. 

It  is  no  purpose  of  this  sketch  to  describe  the 
disagreeable  position  in  which  Rudger  Clawson 
found  himself  during  the  first  six  months  of  his 
incarceration,  not  only  because  of  the  ordinary 
discomforts  and  inconveniencies  of  prison_life,  but 
as  well  on  account  of  the  deep-seated  and  un- 
reasonable prejudice  that  existed  in  the  minds  of 
his  fellow-convicts  in  relation  to  himself  and  the 
Church  with  which  he  was  identified.  Among 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  11 

the  latter,  however,  he  found  a  few  friends,  who 
stood  by  him  in  his  isolation. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  witness  the  extremest 
forms  in  which  human  prejudice  can  find  expres- 
sion, they  can  be  amply  satisfied  by  residing  for  a 
time  in  this  place  of  imprisonment.  Then  he 
could  form  some  idea  of  the  position  in  which 
Rudger  was  for  a  time  placed,  there  being  no  soul 
of  his  own  faith  within  those  walls  except  Brother 
Joseph  Evans,  whose  case  was  the  next  in  order 
of  date  to  his  own.  Those  feelings  of  antipathy 
have  gradually  modified,  however,  until  it  has 
been  supplanted  by  a  sentiment  of  respect,  and  in 
many  instances,  even  friendliness  for  most  of  the 
"  Mormon  "  inmates  of  the  penitentiary. 

But  it  is  not  upon  this  phase  of  Brother  Claw- 
son's  career  that  the  writer  proposes  to  dwell.  It 
receives  a  merely  incidental,  or  rather  introduc- 
tory mention.  There  is  a  thrilling  chapter  in  his 
experience,  the  story  of  which  has  never  been 
presented  to  the  public  in  a  connected  and  thor- 
oughly intelligible  form.  It  inculcates  an  event 
of  momentous  historical  importance,  being  none 
other  than  the  assassination,  by  a  mob  of  religious 
fanatics,  of  Elder  Joseph  Standing,  near  Varnell's 
Station,  Whitfield  County,  Georgia,  on  Sunday, 
July  21st,  1879.  The  chief  reason  for  the  penning 


12 


THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 


of  this  sketch  is  that  the  details  of  that  tragedy 
may  be  presented  in  a  definite  and  consecutive 
shape. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  Mission  to  Georgia.— A  Dream  and  its  fulfilment.— A 
tramp  in  the  dark.— Entertained  by  Mr.  Holston.— A 
sense  of  approaching  Danger. 

'N  1879,  Rudger  was  called  to  go  on  a  preach- 
ing mission  to  the  Southern  States,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  his  field  in  the  early  part  of  that  year. 
He  labored  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  associated  with 
Elder  Joseph  Standing.  Before  he  reached  that 
part  of  the  country  the  latter  had  accomplished  a 
good  work  in  Whitfield  County;  particularly  in 
the  neighborhood  of  VarnelPs  Station,  where  he 
had  succeeded  in  raising  up  a  branch  of  the 
Church. 

A  short  time  before  he  was  murdered,  Brother 
Standing  had  a  dream  which  made  a  powerful 
impression  upon  his  mind,  and  caused  him  to 
have  forebodings  of  approaching  trouble.  He  told 
it  to  Rudger,  and  several  times  subsequently  to 
other  persons  in  his  presence.  It  was  about  as 


JOSEPH    STANDING  13 

follows,  as  near  as  his  precise  language  can  be 
recollected : 

"  I  thought  I  went  to  Varnell's  Station,  when 
suddenly  clouds  of  intense  blackness  gathered 
overhead  and  all  around  me.  I  visited  a  family 
who  were  connected  with  the  Church.  The  mo- 
ment I  entered  their  house  the  most  extreme  con- 
sternation seized  them,  and  they  made  it  clear 
beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt  that  my  presence 
was  objectionable.  They  appeared  to  be  influenced 
by  a  sense  of  great  fearfulness.  There  was  no 
clearing  away  of  the  clouds  nor  abatement  of  the 
restlessness  of  the  people,  when  I  suddenly  awoke, 
without  my  being  shown  the  end  of  the  trouble." 

In  the  meantime  a  conference  was  appointed  to 
be  held  in  Rome,  Georgia,  and  Elders  Standing 
and  Clawson  received  an  invitation  to  be  present 
and  participate  in  the  proceedings.  They  accord- 
ingly set  out  on  a  journey  to  that  point.  Stand- 
ing decided  that  a  call  should  be  made,  on  the 
way,  at  Varnell's  Station,  that  they  might  visit 
some  of  the  Saints,  most  of  whom  were  new 
members  of  the  Church.  They  reached  that  place 
on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  July  9th,  and 

proceeded  to  the  residence  of  J .  As 

soon  as  they  got  to  the  house  the  inmates  seemed 
to  be  in  a  state  of  great  excitement.  They  said 


14  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

that  threats  had  been  made  against  the  brethren, 
and  the  feeling  toward  them  in  the  neighborhood 
was  bitter  and  murderous.  They  declined  to  allow 
them  to  stop  over  night,  because  if  anything  hap- 
pened they  would  have  to  share  the  trouble. 

This  reception  chilled  the  feelings  of  the  Elders, 
and  Eudger  said  to  himself  involuntarily :  "This 
is  the  fulfilment  of  Joseph's  dream." 

"What  shall  we  do?"  said  the  missionaries.  "It 
is  now  nine  o'clock,  and  getting  quite  dark.  Can 
you  tell  us  of  a  place  where  we  can  find  shelter  ?" 

"  Yes,"  said  J ,  "  you  can  go  to  Holston's, 

a  mile  and  a  half  further  on.  He  will  doubtless 
entertain  you." 

There  being  no  alternative,  the  two  travelers 

left  the  house  of  the  J 's  and  set   out  for 

that  of  Henry  Holston,  who  was  not  a  member  of 
the  Church,  but  had  shown  a  very  friendly  dis- 
position toward  the  Elders.  They  trudged  through 
the  thickly  wooded  country,  about  one  half  of 
the  way  in  pitchy  darkness. 

On  reaching  the  Holston  place,  they  discovered 
that  the  family  had  retired.  In  response  to  a 
knock,  the  voice  of  the  proprietor  was  soon  heard, 
saying,  "Who  is  there?" 

"Standing  and  Clawson,"  was  the  reply. 

"Well?"  said  Mr.  Holston,  in  that  peculiar  in- 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  15 

tonation  that  gave  the  impression  that  he  was 
slightly  hesitating  about  extending  his  hospitality. 

The  situation  was  briefly  explained,  the  relation 
winding  up  with— "We  would  like  the  privilege 
of  stopping  over  night." 

The  door  instantly  opened,  and  Mr.  Holston 
said,  with  that  cordiality  for  which  he  was  noted, 
"Come  in." 

After  the  brethren  entered  he  was  very  kind. 
He  explained  to  them,  however,  that  there  was 
danger  in  the  air.  Threats  of  mobbing,  whip- 
ping and  even  killing  the  Elders  had  been  freely 
made,  and  he  expected  to  get  into  trouble  on 
account  of  entertaining  them.  He  said,  however, 
that  he  would  take  his  chances  on  that  head  and 
would  defend  them  so  long  as  they  were  under 
his  roof. 

When  the  guests  entered  the  room  assigned  them, 
Standing  appeared  pale,  anxious  and  determined. 
It  is  not  known  whether  his  dream  had  occurred 
to  him  on  account  of  the  situation,  as  no  expres- 
sion from  him  denoted  that  such  was  the  case. 
It  was  evident,  however,  that  he  was  impressed 
with  a  premonition  of  approaching  danger.  He 
had  always  felt  an  intense  horror  of  being 
whipped  and  more  than  once  had  declared  that 
he  would  rather  die  than  be  subjected  to  such  an 


16  THE    MARTYRDOM    OF 

indignity.  Notwithstanding  that  he  appeared  to 
be  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  near 
presence  'of  danger,  he  was  naturally  a  courageous 
young  man. 

He  carefully  examined  the  windows  and  se- 
curely fastened  them.  He  then  got  hold  of  an 
iron  bar,  which  he  placed  in  such  a  position  as  to 
be  within  easy  reach  of  his  hand,  in  case  of 
necessity. 

"What  is  the  meaning  of  these  precautions?" 
said  Rudger. 

"  I  expect  the  mob  to-night,  and  I  want  to  be 
ready  to  receive  them,"  was  the  resolute  response. 

"I  don't  think  we  will  be  disturbed,"  said  the 
imperturbable  Rudger,  who  forthwith  fell  into  a 
sound  slumber,  from  which  he  did  not  awake  till 
broad  daylight. 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  17 


CHAPTER  III. 

Captured  by  a  howling  Mob.— Their  brutal  Threats  and  Con- 
duct.—Standing's  Manner  and  Expostulations.— Rudger 
receives  a  Blow.— Honest  Owensby  and  his  Horse.— A 
heroic  Girl.— Scene  of  the  Murder.— "Shoot  that  Man."— 
Horrible  Spectacle.  -"This  is  terrible.1' 

sEXT  morning  was  the  Sabbath,  and  the 
weather  was  clear  and  beautiful,  all  nature 
appearing  to  rest  in  peaceful  serenity.  The  two 
Elders  set  out  to  go  to  the  house  at  which  they 
were  received  with  such  meagre  hospitality  the 
night  previous,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  their 
satchels,  etc.,  and  bringing  them  on  to  Mr.  Hol- 
ston's  place.  They  found  the  J s  still  fear- 
ful because  of  the  bitter  feeling  they  knew  existed 
in  the  neighborhood  toward  the  brethren,  and  the 
stay  of  the  latter  was  brief. 

The  road  between  J 's  and  Holston's  was 

densely  wooded  on  both  sides.  On  the  way  back 
to  the  residence  of  the  latter,  turning  a  bend  the 
two  young  missionaries  suddenly  came  in  full 
view  of  a  posse  of  twelve  men.  Some  were 
mounted,  the  remainder  were  afoot  and  all  were 
armed.  As  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  the 

Elders  they  set  up,  unitedly,  the  most  demoniacal 
2 


18  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

yells  of  exultation,  and  came  rushing  toward 
them  like  a  pack  of  hungry  wolves  who  had  dis- 
covered the  prey  they  were  about  to  tear  to  pieces 
and  devour. 

The  feelings  that  were  inspired  in  Joseph 
Standing  at  this  appalling  spectacle  can  only  be 
judged  by  his  appearance.  His  face  was  pale  as 
death,  his  features  rigid,  while  his  eye  betokened 
the  intensity  of  the  subdued  excitement  under 
which  he  labored. 

The  sensations  that  passed  through  Rudger's 
mind  and  frame  were  entirely  new  to  him,  as  he 
was  now  facing  a  danger  that  had  no  parallel  in 
any  former  incident  of  his  life,  which  he  thought 
he  was  about  to  be  compelled  to  surrender. 

The  names  of  those  who  composed  this  blood- 
thirsty band  of  murderous  ruffians,  whose  cruel 
and  dastardly  deed  will  cause  them  to  be  branded 
with  eternal  infamy,  are : 

David  D.  Nations,  Jasper  N.  Nations,  A.  S.  Smith, 
David  Smith,  Benjamin  Clark,  William  Nations, 
Andrew  Bradley,  James  Faucett,  Hugh  Blair,  Jos. 
Nations,  Jefferson  Hunter  and  Mack  McLure. 

The  expressions  upon  the  faces  of  those  fiends 
incarnate  were  in  unison  with  the  vengeful 
sounds  which  had  just  escaped  from  their  throats. 
They  were  laboring  under  the  excitement  of 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  19 

passion  to  such  an  extent  that  their  frames  shook 
and  some  of  them  foamed  at  the  mouth. 

As  soon  as  they  came  up  Joseph  Standing,  in  a 
clear  voice,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  all  of 
them,  said: 

"Gentlemen:  By  what  authority  are  we  thus 
molested  upon  the  public  highway?  If  you  have 
a  warrant  of  arrest  or  any  other  legal  process  to 
serve  upon  us,  we  would  like  to  examine,  it,  that 
we  may  be  satisfied  as  to  your  authority  to  inter- 
fere with  our  movements." 

"  We'll  show  you  by  what  authority  we  act," 
some  of  them  shouted. 

One  of  the  mounted  mobbers  then  jumped  from 
his  horse  and  approached  Rudger  with  a  cocked 
revolver.  He  flourished  this  weapon,  whirling  it 
menacingly  in  the  face  of  the  young  man,  who 
looked  down  the  muzzle  of  an  implement  of  that 
character  for  the  first  time.  It  is  perhaps  needless 
to  state  that  it  looked  exceedingly  formidable  to 
him.  The  murderous  fellow  who  performed  this 
part  of  the  programme  accompanied  his  threat- 
ening antics  with  the  most  foul  and  blasphemous 
abuse,  while  his  companions  were  moving  around 
and  indulging  in  vile  and  profane  cursings.  The 
excitement  of  Bradley — a  large  and  powerful 
man — was  singularly  noticeable.  He  was  on 


20  THE    MARTYRDOM    OF 

horseback  and  was  holding  a  double  barrelled 
shotgun  in  front  of  him,  across  his  animal,  with 
both  hands.  He  shook  so  that  the  weapon  bobbed 
about  as  if  he  were  about  to  drop  it. 

"Come  with  us,"  was  the  command  from  the 
mob. 

The  singular  procession  then  started  back  in 
the  same  direction  from  which  the  Elders  had 
come. 

Standing  appeared  to  be  laboring  under  a  ter- 
rible strain.  His  face  continued  overspread  with 
a  deathly  pallor;  he  walked  rapidly,  and  with  his 
figure  erect  as  an  arrow.  He  moved  so  quickly 
that  he  kept  pace  with  the  front  line  of  the  mob- 
bers,  with  whom  he  constantly  reasoned  and  ex- 
postulated. "  It  is  not  our  intention,"  said  he  "  to 
remain  in  this  part  of  the  State.  If  we  had  been 
unmolested  we  would  have  been  away  in  a  very 
short  time.  We  use  no  inducements  to  persuade 
people  to  join  our  Church.  We  preach  what  we 
understand  to  be  the  truth  and  leave  people  to 
embrace  it  or  not,  as  they  may  choose,"  etc. 

Such  expostulations  had  not  the  slightest  effect 
in  mollifying  the  lawless  band,  but  rather  exas- 
perated them  all  the  more.  Indeed  it  was  not 
what  the  missionaries  might  do  for  which  these 
base  fellows  had  resolved  to  punish  them,  but  for 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  21 

what  had  already  been  done,  some  of  the  best  and 
most  respected  people  in  that  section  having  em- 
braced the  gospel  through  Elder  Standing's  min- 
istrations. They  said:  "The  government  of  the 
the  United  States  is  against  you,  and  there  is  no 
law  in  Georgia  for  Mormons." 

Rudger  manifested  no  hurry  in  accompanying 
the  gang.  His  overwhelming  sentiment  on  that 
subject  was  one  of  reluctance.  He  could  see  no 
developments  ahead  but  those  of  a  most  appalling 
character,  and  he  was  the  reverse  of  anxious  to 
hasten  their  consummation.  He  expected  he  was 
going  to  his  death,  and  he  had  no  desire  to  meet 
the  grim  monster  any  sooner  than  might  be  com- 
pulsory. He  walked  rather  slowly,  in  order  that 
he  might  not  get  too  far  ahead  of  his  inclinations. 

One  of  the  ruffians,  becoming  exasperated  at 
his  tendency  to  lag,  came  up  behind  and  struck 
him  a  terrible  blow  on  the  back  of  the  head.  Be- 
ing stunned  for  the  moment,  Rudger  reeled  and 
fell  forward,  saving  his  body  from  the  full  shock 
of  the  fall  by  extending  his  hands.  Recovering 
speedily,  he  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  his  heart 
fired  with  consuming  rage.  He  turned  for  the 
purpose  of  identifying  his  cowardly  assailant,  and 
found  him  to  be  a  young  man — probably  the  most 
youthful  person  of  .the  party.  Rudger  knew  that 


22  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

to  resent  the  brutal  outrage  would  be  certain  and 
almost  instant  death.  He  looked  at  him,  how- 
ever, in  such  a  mamier  as  to  convey  all  the  con- 
tempt that  could  be  indicated  by  facial  expression. 

This  seemed  to  enrage  the  wretch  almost  as 
much  as  if  he  had  received  "blow  for  blow." 
Shortly  after  the  helpless  victim  of  his  attack  had 
resumed  the  melancholy  line  of  march,  the  fellow 
assaulted  him  again.  He  raised  a  heavy  club  and 
was  about  to  bring  it  down  upon  Rudger's  head 
with  all  the  force  he  was  capable  of  using,  when 
another  member  of  the  band  seized  his  arm  and 
told  him  to  desist. 

On  proceeding  a  short  distance  further  the  party 
beheld  a  spectacle  that,  notwithstanding  the  seri- 
ous character  of  the  situation,  caused  some  to 
show  that  they  sensed  its  ludicrousness,  by  an  in- 
voluntary smile.  They  came  suddenly  upon  an 
old  man,  apparently  about  sixty  years  of  age, 
mounted  upon  an  alleged  horse. 

The  name  of  this  person  was  Jonathan 
Owensby.  He  was  ponderous,  even  to  hugeness, 
but  not  from  excess  of  adipose.  He  was  tall,  raw- 
boned,  loose-jointed  and  sinewy.  As  he  sat,  or 
rather  hung  upon  his  horse,  he  reminded  one  of  a 
bundle  of  knotty  slabs.  His  face  and  head  were 
large,  and  his  complexion  bordered  upon  the  hue 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  23 

of  tanned  leather,  the  skin  having  a  harmonious 
appearance  of  similar  toughness.  The  features 
were  large,  projecting  and  craggy,  the  forehead  re- 
ceding with  marked  abruptness,  leaving  a  jutting 
ledge,  on  the  lower  part,  covered  with  a  thick 
growth  of  shaggy  hair,  in  the  form  of  eye-brows, 
from  under  which  peered  a  pair  of  poorly  matched 
grey  eyes.  While  the  right  optic  gazed  at  you 
steadfastly  the  other  seemed  to  be  "taking  in"  the 
landscape  on  the  left. 

The  animal  upon  which  this  peculiar  person 
rode  completed  the  picture.  It  looked  as  if 
nature  had  begun  the  work  of  making  a  horse 
and  abandoned  the  job  after  having  put  the  frame 
together. 

Notwithstanding  the  forbidding  character  of 
Jonathan  Owensby's  personal  appearance,  his 
reputation  for  truthfulness  and  general  honesty 
was'  second  to  none  in  the  section  of  the  country 
where  he  resided.  A  circumstance  connected  with 
the  tragedy,  the  particulars  leading  to  which  are 
now  being  related,  bore  out  the  correctness  of  the 
estimate  popularly  placed  upon  the  good  man's 
character. 

Addressing  Jonathan,  one  of  the  mobbers  said: 
"  Is  there  anything  the  matter  with  your  horse? 
If  there  is,  these  men  are  Elders  of  the  '  Mormon ' 


24  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

Church,  and  will  heal  it  by  the  laying  on  of 
hands." 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  anything  the  matter 
with  him,"  said  the  old  man,  as  he  smiled  grimly 
and  passed  on  his  way. 

The  party  at  this  juncture  turned  out  of  the 
main  road  and  went  deeper  into  the  woods.  They 
had  scarcely  more  than  taken  this  change  of 
route  when  they  met  a  young  girl  named  Mary 
Harnlin.  It  subsequently  transpired  that  she  and 
her  mother,  who  were  friendly  to  the  Elders,  had 
seen  the  mob  and  feared  greatly  that  they  might 
meet  the  brethren  and  kill  them.  At  the  sugges- 
tion of  Mrs.  Hamlin,  her  daughter  set  out  to  in- 
tercept the  missionaries,  put  them  on  their  guard 
and  enable  them  to  evade  the  mobbers.  She 
was  just  a  little  too  late,  but  it  was  no  fault 
of  this  heroic  girl,  who  had  traveled  with  all  the 
speed  she  could  command. 

When  she  comprehended  the  situation  her  face 
assumed  a  bleachy  whiteness. 

A  terrible  fear,  combined  with  a  determined 
resolution  seized  upon  Rudger.  Doubtless  the 
mind  of  Brother  Standing  was  similarly  exercised. 
Knowing  the  unscrupulous  characters  of  those  who 
held  the  Elders  in  custody,  an  idea  shot  through 
his  mind  that  they  might  commit  an  outrage 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  25 

upon  the  girl.  In  that  event  any  attempt  to  pre- 
vent them  consummating  such  a  purpose  would 
be  certain  death  to  himself  and  companion, 
yet  he  resolved  to  make  it.  Unarmed  and 
helpless  as  he  was,  he  purposed  selling  his  life  as 
dearly  as  possible,  if  need  be,  in  defending  this 
innocent  young  woman. 

One  of  the  men  said :  "  You  see  we  have  got 
your  brethren.  As  soon  as  we  dispose  of  their 
case  we  purpose  attending  to  you." 

"The  Lord  is  with  them  and  my  prayers  are 
forever  for  them,"  replied  Mary,  the  tones  of  her 
voice  evincing  deep  emotion.  She  then  went  on 
her  way. 

At  this  juncture  three  of  the  members  of  the 
party  who  were  on  horseback  left  the  main  body 
and  made  a  detour,  probably  to  reconnoitre  or  to 
get  others  to  join  them  in  their  villainous  work. 

The  remainder,  in  charge  of  the  two  intended 
victims  of  their  satanic  hate,  proceeded  a  short 
distance  further,  when  they  reached  a  lovely  spot 
— a  spring  of  clear  water,  overshadowed  by  a 
huge,  outspreading  tree.  Here  a  halt  was  made 
and  the  party  seated  themselves  around  the  mir- 
ror-like pool. 

From  the  time  the  Elders  were  captured  by  the 
mob,  Standing  seemed  to  be  affected  with  a  burn- 


26  THE    MARTYRDOM   OF 

ing  thirst,  probably  occasioned  by  the  suppressed 
excitement  under  which  he  was  laboring.  On  the 
way  he  several  times  appealed  to  his  captors  for 
water,  and  now  an  opportunity  was  presented  for 
the  first  time  for  him  to  obtain  it. 

One  of  the  men,  pointing  to  the  spring,  told 
him  to  drink. 

The  young  man  was  furthest  from  the  pool,  and 
in  order  to  reach  it  wrould  have  to  pass  close  to 
several  of  the  mobbers,  and  while  reclining  to 
reach  the  water  would  be  an  easy  prey  to  any  of 
the  blood-thirsty  crew  who  might  take  advantage 
of  his  prone  position  to  do  him  violence.  This 
probability  appeared  to  flash  across  his  mind,  and 
he  said:  "I  don't  wish  to  drink  now." 

The  man  who  told  him  to  slake  his  thirst  evi- 
dently divined  what  was  passing  through  his 
mind,  and  said:  "You  needn't  be  afraid;  you  can 
drink,  as  we  will  not  hurt  you  while  you  do  so." 

Standing  went  to  the  spring  and  took  a  copious 
draught.  He  was  still  very  pale,  his  features 
rigid,  and  overspread  with  an  expression  of  deep 
anxiety . 

After  he  had  returned  to  his  place,  James 
Faucett,  aged  about  sixty  years,  and  who  was 
seated  upon  a  horse,  addressing  the  Elders,  deliv- 
ered himself  as  follows: 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  27 

"  I  want  you  men  to  understand  that  I  am  the 
captain  of  this  party,  and  that  if  we  ever  again 
find  you  in  this  part  of  the  country  we  will  hang 
you  by  the  neck  like  dogs." 

A  general  desultory  conversation  ensued,  in  the 
course  of  which  the  vilest  accusations  were  laid 
against  the  "Mormons,"  the  beastly  talk  of  the 
mobbers  merely  serving  to  show  the  depravity 
and  corruption  of  their  own  hearts.  They  be- 
trayed a  deep-seated  hatred  of  Elder  John  Morgan. 
They  were  desirous  of  ascertaining  his  where- 
abouts from  the  Elders,  and  appeared  disap- 
pointed on  learning  from  them  that  he  was  at 
that  time  in  Utah. 

The  space  of  about  one  hour  was  consumed  in 
this  way,  when  the  three  horsemen  who  had  left 
the  party  came  in  sight.  As  they  rode  up,  one  of 
them  exclaimed:  "Follow  us." 

At  this  time  Joseph  Standing  was  sitting  with 
his  back  toward  the  horsemen,  but  no  sooner  had 
the  command  embodied  in  the  two  words  quoted 
been  uttered  than  he  leaped  to  his  feet  with  a 
bound,  instantly  wheeled  so  as  to  face  them, 
brought  his  two  hands  together  with  a  sudden 
slap,  and  shouted  in  a  loud,  clear,  resolute  voice  — 
"Surrender." 

A  man  seated  close  to  him  pointed  his  pistol  at 


28  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

him  and  fired.  Young  Standing  whirled  or  spun 
three  times  round  upon  his  feet,  fell  heavily  for- 
ward upon  the  ground,  turned  once  over,  bring- 
ing him  face  upward,  and  spread  his  arms  widely 
out,  his  form  being  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  in 
the  shape  of  a  cross. 

As  if  moved  by  one  impulse  all  those  who  had 
been  seated  upon  the  ground  arose  to  their  feet. 
Suddenly  a  member  of  the  party,  pointing  to 
Rudger,  said  to  his  companions,  in  an  authorita- 
tive tone — "  Shoot  that  man." 

In  an  instant,  every  weapon  was  turned  upon 
the  defenseless  young  missionary,  who  felt  that 
his  last  moment  on  earth  had  come  and  that  in  a 
few  seconds  he  would  be  launched  into  eternity. 
He  fully  realized  the  situation,  his  feelings  being 
intensified  by  the  expectation  that  a  bullet  was 
about  to  crash  through  his  brain,  the  very  idea  of 
which  had  always  been  to  him  most  horrible. 

The  murderous  wretches  paused  a  moment 
with  their  weapons  leveled  upon  their  proposed 
victim,  who  folded  his  arms — showing  an  out- 
ward calmness  at  the  most  extreme  variance  with 
his  inward  feelings — and  said  with  apparent  de- 
liberation: "Shoot." 

The  suspense  of  a  lifetime  seemed  to  be  thrown 
into  the  next  few  seconds.  A  whirling  sensation 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  29 

passed  over  his  brain  and  then  all  was  dark. 
This  condition  was  but  momentary,  and  when  he 
recovered  the  position  was  unaltered — the  mur- 
derous ruffians  still  stood  with  their  guns  and 
pistols  pointed  at  him.  The  man  who  had 
directed  that  the  young  Elder  be  murdered  sud- 
denly changed  his  mind  and  countermanded  the 
first  order  by  shouting  "  Don't  shoot." 

The  men  at  once  lowered  their  arms.  They 
then  appeared  to  sense  the  horrible  character  of 
the  deed  that  had  been  committed.  As  soon  as 
it  flashed  fully  upon  them,  they  were  seized  with 
sudden  consternation  and  instinctively  rushed  to- 
gether in  a  compact  group,  as  if  seeking  mutual 
protection  from  each  other,  from  the  probable 
consequences  of  the  bloody  act. 

Rudger  walked  over  to  where  young  Standing 
was  lying,  stooped  and  looked  into  his  face.  The 
spectacle  that  met  his  gaze  sent  a  shock  through 
his  system  that  can  never  be  erased  from  his 
memory.  There  lay  his  companion,  recently  in 
the  full  vigor  of  life  and  health — bright,  capable 
and  intelligent — in  the  throes  of  death.  There 
was  a  large  ghastly  wound  in  the  forehead, 
directly  above  the  nose,  the  right  eye  had  been 
torn  out,  the  brain  was  oozing  from  the  place 
where  the  bullet  entered,  and  the  death-rattle  was 


30  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

sounding  in  his  throat.  .Rudger  gently  raised 
the  dying  man's  head  and  placed  his  hat  under 
it  to  keep  it  out  of  the  dust.  He  was  then  seized 
with  a  deep  sense  of  grief,  succeeded  by  a  feeling 
of  utter  loneliness,  which  may  well  be  imagined 
from  the  appalling  character  of  the  situation. 
Under  the  circumstances,  he  could  but  put  his 
trust  in  God,  who,  for  a  wise  purpose,  had  per- 
mitted one  of  His  faithful  servants  to  be  brutally 
murdered. 

As  Rudger  stood  gazing  at  his  friend  and  com- 
panion, he.  was  approached  by  one  of  the  Nations 
brothers,  who  said  with  a  strong  emphasis  upon 
the  last  word  of  each  exclamation :  "  This  is  ter- 
rible! This  is  terrible!  This  is  terrible;  that  he 
should  have  killed  himself  in  such  a  manner." 

The  missionary  perceived  the  intention  to  re- 
sort to  the  suicide  theory,  and  deeming  it  both 
imprudent  and  unsafe  to  openly  repudiate  it, 
replied:  "Yes,  it  is  terrible." 

Then  realizing  the  danger  of  giving  the  gang 
any  time  to  sense  the  fact  that  to  permit  him  to 
escape  alive  would  be  a  menace  to  their  safety, 
he  saw  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 

He  exclaimed:  "Gentleman,  it  is  a  burning 
shame  to  leave  a  man  to  die  in  the  woods  in  this 
fashion.  For  heaven's  sake  either  you  go  and 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  31 

procure  assistance  that  the  body  may  be  removed 
and  cared  for,  or  allow  me  to  do  so." 

He  urged  this  point  so  earnestly  and  vehem- 
ently that  the  gang  consulted  a  moment  and 
then,  turning  to  him,  said :  "  You  go." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

A  terror- incited  Run. — A  cold-blooded  Woodchopper. — Rud- 
ger  starts  for  Catoosa.— He  confronts  a  startling  Danger. 
—What  was  done  at  Catoosa.— Significant  Correspond- 
ence.—Holston  visits  the  body.— A  fresh  horror  for 
Rudger.— The  Inquest. 

T  need  scarcely  be  said  that  he  did  not  wait 
upon  the  order  of  his  going,  but  went  at 
once.  He  felt  that  he  had  urgent  business  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  that  mob,  and  that  he 
could  not  breathe  unrestrainedly  while  within 
range  of  the  villainous  crowd. 

Before  he  could  reach  a  wooded  part  of  the 
country  it  was  necessary  to  cross  an  open  space 
extending  a  distance  of  about  twenty  rods.  He 
had  an  almost  uncontrollable  desire  to  run,  but 
he  dared  not  do  so  lest  that  course  might  cause 
the  lawless  fellows  to  change  their  minds.  He 


32  THE   MARTYKDOM   OF 

walked  rapidly,  however,  yet  it  seemed  to  him 
like  a  journey  of  fifty  miles.  Every  moment  he 
was  expecting  to  be  shot  in  the  back,  and  the 
relief  he  experienced  when  he  reached  cover  is 
beyond  the  power  of  description. 

As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  the  sight  of  the  mur- 
derers/Rudger  almost  flew  through  the  air.  Urged 
on  by  a  terrible  desperation,  his  feet  scarcely 
touched  the  ground  as  he  placed  the  greatest 
practicable  distance  between  himself  and  his 
enemies  in  the  least  possible  time.  The  house  of 
Mr.  Holston,  about  two  miles  distant  from  the 
scene  of  the  tragedy,  was  the  objective  point  of  the 
race  he  was  running.  When  he  had  proceeded 
about  a  mile  he  heard  a  sound  of  chopping  in  the 
woods.  It  fell  like  sweet  music  upon  his  ear,  as 
he  thought  it  probably  indicated  the  near  prox- 
imity of  some  one  who  might  prove  "a  friend  in 
need" — a  welcome  change,  in  view  of  the  experi- 
ence of  the  last  few  hours. 

He  hailed  the  wood-chopper,  by  shouting 
"  Halloo." 

"  Halloo,"  responded  the  axe-wielder.  -  Rudger 
located  the  source  of  the  sound,  but  was  on  the 
other  side  of  a  creek  from  the  owner  of  the  voice. 
Without  seeing  him  he  called  to  him  in  entreat- 
ing tones:  "A  man  has  just  been  murdered  in 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  33 

cold  blood  about  a  mile  from  here.  Will  you, 
for  heaven's  sake,  go  with  me  to  the  spot  and 
assist  in  removing  the  body?" 

After  a  pause  came  the  heartless  response :  "No; 
I  haven't  time." 

Rudger  resumed  his  run  for  Mr.  Holston's 
house,  at  which  he  soon  afterwards  arrived. 

That  gentleman  had  been  informed  by  persons 
who  had  seen  the  armed  mob  that  the  lives  of 
the  Elders  were  in  danger ;  he  was  therefore  par- 
tially prepared  for  the  tale  of  blood  which  was 
hurriedly  related  to  him. 

Said  Rudger:  "Will  you  go  and  look  after  the 
body  while  I  go  and  obtain  the  services  of  a 
coroner  ?  " 

"  Yes.     I  will  go  at  once." 

"Will  you  let  me  have  the  use  of  a  horse?" 

"  Go  to  the  stable  and  find  an  animal  that  will 
suit  your  purpose." 

Mr.  Holston  then  left  for  the  scene  of  the  assas- 
sination and  Rudger  started  for  Catoosa  Springs, 
where  the  coroner  resided,  on  horseback.  • 

The  road  to  Catoosa  was  lonely,  that  part  of  the 
country  being  but  sparsely  populated.  Rudger 
put  the  animal  on  which  he  rode  upon  its  metal. 
Doubtless  it  traveled  at  a  speed  that  would  have 
satisfied  any  ordinary,  and  even  some  extraordi- 


34  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

nary  demands.  To  the  impatient  and  overstrained 
mind  of  the  rider  it  appeared  like  the  progress  of 
a  snail  compared  with  the  rapidity  with  which  he 
desired  to  go  over  the  road.  He  reined  up  for  a 
moment,  procured*  a  club  and  with  this  pummeled 
the  poor  brute  with  it,  in  the  desperate  hope  of 
urging  him  to  a  quicker  gallop. 

By  the  direct  route  from  Holston's  to  Catoosa, 
the  distance  was  about  five  miles,  but  owing  to 
his  being  misdirected  he  got  out  of  his  way,  mak- 
ing it  seven  miles  by  the  route  he  took. 

When  about  two  miles  from  his  destination,  in 
turning  a  curve  in  the  road  he  beheld  a  group  of 
horsemen,  numbering  about  six  or  seven  approach- 
ing him  from  a  distance.  They  appeared  to  be  in 
a  hurry,  as  they  were  traveling  at  a  rapid  rate. 

When  they  came  within  about  twenty  rods  of 
Eudger,  he  was  confronted  with  a  new  and  unex- 
pected terror — he  recognized  them  as  members  of 
the  gang  who  murdered  Elder  Standing.  He 
felt  as  if  it  would  have  been  a  relief  for  the  earth 
to  suddenly  open  and  swallow  him.  He  antici- 
pated neither  more  nor  less  than  that  the  wretches 
would  assassinate  him. 

He  could  make  a  dash  for  cover,  as  the  country 
was  wooded,  and  thus  have  a  chance,  meagre 
though  it  might  be,  to  escape. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  35 

No  sooner  had  this  idea  flashed  upon  his  mind 
than  he  abandoned  it.  He  resolved  to  confront 
the  danger,  although  it  appeared  to  involve  cer- 
tain death.  The  condition  of  his  mind  at  meet- 
ing, alone  and  defenseless,  with  those  whose  hands 
were  reeking  with  the  blood  of  his  late  com- 
panion, must  be  left  to  the  imagination  of  the 
reader.  It  cannot  be  adequately  delineated  by 
the  pen  of  mortal.  The  approaching  party  were 
all  armed.  The  courageous  young  man  rode 
forward.  When  he  reached  them,  all  reined  up, 
and  he  fully  anticipated  being  shot  down.  He 
expected  no  mercy. 

"What  have  you  done  with  Standing?"  one  of 
them  exclaimed. 

"I  have  hot  disturbed  him,  and  I  presume  he 
lies  just  where  he  fell." 

"Where  are  you  going?" 

Rudger  extended  his  arm  westward  and,  point- 
ing with  his  index  finger,  said :  "  I  am  going  in 
that  direction." 

Some  of  them  smiled,  and  all  rode  on,  their 
departure  lifting  a  load  from  Rudger's  mind  that 
seemed  like  the  removal  of  a  mountain.  It  was 
also  like  a  rift  in  the  clouds  of  a  day  of  gloom 
through  which  a  cheering  ray  of  light  had 
brightly  glinted. 


36  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

The  satisfaction  of  the  mobbers  at  the  answer 
given  by  Rudger  as  to  where  he  was  going,  is 
easily  explained.  They  imagined  that  he  was 
fleeing  from  the  country  and  was  traveling  in  hot 
haste,  in  a  terror-stricken  state,  for  Utah.  This 
was  precisely  the  impression  he  wished  to  make 
upon  them,  and  he  misled  them  by  pointing 
toward  Catoosa,  which  lay  directly  west  from  the 
point  where  he  encountered  the  party. 

His  meeting  with  them  was  a  cause  for  astonish- 
ment to  him  as  well  as  terror.  The  reason  for 
their  presence  at  that  point  was,  however,  quite 
obvious.  It  was  close  to  the  line  which  separates 
Georgia  from  Tennessee,  and  they  were  making 
their  way  over  the  border  into  the  latter  State  in 
order  to  evade  pursuit  and  arrest  for  murder  by 
the  officers  of  the  law. 

Rudger  pushed  on  to  Catoosa,  at  which  point 
he  shortly  arrived.  His  first  object  was  to  find 
the  telegraph  office,  which  was  situated  in  the 
large  hall  of  a  capacious  hotel. 

He  was  begrimed  and  dirty  with  travel  from 
head  to  foot,  and  his  appearance  upon  the  festive 
scene  that  the  spacious  apartment  presented  was 
extremely  grotesque.  The  place  was  thronged 
with  pleasure-seekers,  dressed  in  the  gay  habila- 
ments  of  fashion.  Strains  of  lively  music  floated 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  37 

in  the  air  while  scores  of  people  were  whirling 
merrily  in  the  mazy  meshes  of  the  dance. 

But  the  appearance  of  the  sad  traveler  was  no 
more  incompatible  with  the  place  and  proceed- 
ings than  the  latter  were  to  the  feelings  that 
possessed  his  soul.  They  seemed  to  him  to  be  a 
hollow  mockery  of  his  condition.  Perhaps  the 
reader  is  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  sensation 
created  in  the  human  breast  oppressed  by  some 
great  grief  occasioned  by  an  irreparable  loss, 
when  some  thoughtless  or  unimformed  individuals 
break  in  upon  his  poignant  reflections  with  bursts 
of  rude  and  boisterous  jocularity.  If  so  an 
approximate  idea  may  be  formed  as  to  the  effect 
produced  upon  the  anxious  traveler  whose  move- 
ments are  now  being  traced,  by  the  new  surround- 
ings into  which  he  was  suddenly  precipitated. 

The  following  dispatch  was  at  once  forwarded 
to  the  Governor  of  Georgia : 

"  CATOOSA  SPRINGS,  JULY  21sT,  1879. 

"Governor  Colquitt,  Atlanta: 

"Joseph  Standing  was  shot  and  killed  to-day, 
near  VarneH's,  by  a  mob  of  ten  or  twelve  men. 

"RUDGER  CLAWSON." 

The  annexed  was  also  sent  at  the  same  time: 


38  THE  MARTYRDOM  OF 

"CATOOSA  SPRINGS,  GEORGIA, 

"  JULY  21sT,  1879. 

"  John  Morgan,  Salt  Lake: 

"Joseph  Standing  was  shot  and  killed  to-day , 
near  Varnell,  by  a  mob  of  ten  or  twelve  men. 
Will  leave  for  home  with  the  body  at  once.  Notify 

his  family. 

"RuDGER  CLAWSON." 

It  may  appear  to  the  reader  that  the  dispatch 
to  Governor  Colquitt  was  not  sufficiently  detailed,. 
and  that  there  might  be,  in  consequence,  some 
danger  of  his  misapprehending  the  character  of 
the  tragedy,  Any  idea  of  that  kind  will  be  at 
once  dispelled  by  the  following  correspondence, 
which  explains  that  Mr.  Colquitt  was  not  only 
familiar  with  Joseph  Standing's  identity,  but  also 
with  the  situation — as  relating  to  anti-"  Mormon  " 
sentiments  and  proceedings — in  Whitfield  County: 

"VAN  ZANT  STORE, 

"FANNIN  COUNTY,  GA., 

"  JUNE  12TH,  1879. 

"DEAR  SIR: — As  an  Elder  of  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  commonly 
called  "Mormons,"  I  take  this  occasion  to  address 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  39 

a  few  lines  to  you  as  the  highest  officer  of  the 
State. 

"I  have  recently  received  several  letters  from 
members  of  our  denomination  residing  at  Varnell 
Station,  Whitfield  County,  informing  me  that 
Elders  of  my  profession  have  been  obliged  at 
times  to  flee  for  their  lives,  as  armed  men  to  the 
number  of  forty  and  fifty  have  come  out  against 
them,  and  have  also  on  various  occasions  entered 
their  houses  in  search  of  said  Elders. 

"  I  am  fully  aware,  dear  sir,  that  the  popular 
prejudice  is  very  much  against  the  "  Mormons," 
and  that  there  are  minor  officers  who  have  appar- 
ently winked  at  the  condition  of  affairs  above 
referred  to.  But  I  am  also  aware  that  the  laws  of 
Georgia  are  strictly  opposed  to  lawlessness  and 
extend  to  her  citizens  the  right  to  worship  God 
according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience. 

"  History,  however,  repeats  itself,  and  the  laws, 
where  prejudice  exists,  are  not  always  executed 
with  impartiality. 

"  A  word  or  line  from  the  Governor  would  ^un- 
doubtedly have  the  desired  effect.  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel  could  then  travel  without  fear]of  being 
stoned  or  shot  and  the  houses  of  the  Saints  would 
not  be  entered  in  defiance  of  all  good  law  and 
order. 


40  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

"  Your  kind  attention  to  this  matter  will  be  duly 
appreciated  by 

"  Your  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

"JOSEPH   STANDING, 
"  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Georgia  Conference. 

"To  His  Excellency,  Governor  Colquitt,  At- 
lanta, Ga." 

"ATLANTA,  GA.,  JUNE  21sT,  1879. 

"Mr.  Jos.  Standing,  Van  Zant  Store,  Ga.: 

"DEAR  SIR: — In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  12th 
inst..  the  Governor  directs  me  to  say  that  your 
statement  is  entirely  correct,  that  'the  laws  of 
Georgia  are  strictly  opposed  to  all  lawlessness,and 
extend  to  her  citizens  the  right  of  worshiping 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.' 

"Under  the  provisions  of  our  State  constitu- 
tion, the  reformation  of  religious  faith  or  of  opin- 
ion on  any  subject,  cannot  legitimately  be  the 
object  of  legislation,  and  no  human  authority  can 
interfere  with  the  right  to  worship  God  according 
to  the  requirements  of  conscience.  So  long  as 
the  conduct  of  men  shall  conform  to  the  law, 
they  can  not  be  molested  and  even  for  non-con- 
formity thereto  they  can  be  interfered  with  only 
as  the  law  may  direct.  No  individual  or  combin- 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  41 

ation  of  individuals  can  assume  to  vindicate  the 
law.  Courts  and  juries  are  instituted  for  that 
purpose,  and  to  them  alone  is  committed  the  office 
of  legally  ascertaining  the  perpetrations  of  crime, 
and  of  awarding  punishment  therefor. 

"  The  Governor  regrets  to  hear  the  report  you 
give  from  Whitfield  County.  He  will  instruct 
the  State  prosecuting  attorney  for  that  district  to 
inquire  into  the  matter,  and  if  the  report  be  true, 
to  prosecute  the  offenders.  I  am,  sir, 
"Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  J.  W.  WARREN, 
"Secretary  Executive  Department." 

So  far  as  known,  the  Governor,  in  the  period 
intervening  between  the  date  of  his  reply  to 
Elder  Standing's  letter  and  the  tragedy,  had 
failed  to  fulfill  his  promise  to  take  steps  toward  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  against  mobocracy  in 
Whitfield  County. 

After  the  coroner  had  been  notified  of  what 
had  occurred,  that  official,  his  clerk  and  Rudger, 
set  out  for  Mr.  Holston's  place,  where  they 
arrived  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

Mr.  Holston  then  related  to  them  the  following 
particulars : 

"At  the  same  time  as  Elder  Clawson  left  for 


42  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

Catoosa,  I  set  out  for  the  scene  of  the  assassina- 
tion,  and  found  Standing  lying  in  his  blood.  I 
examined  the  wound,  and  while  doing  so  I  dis- 
covered that  the  young  man  was  not  yet  dead.  I 
made  another  discovery  that  caused  me  to  fear 
every  moment  that  I  would  be  murdered  myself, 
as  I  was  unarmed,  and  consequently  not  in  a 
position  to  defend  myself.  I  saw  armed  men — 
members  of  the  party  who  committed  the  mur- 
der— loitering  about  the  edge  of  the  adjacent 
woods,  closely  watching  my  movements.  Not- 
withstanding the  alarm  I  naturally  felt  under  the 
circumstances,  I  remained  a  sufficient  length  of 
time  to  enable  me  to  construct  a  shade  of  bows  to 
shelter  the  body  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
sun,  the  weather  being  extremely  hot.  After 
having  performed  that  office,  being  about  all  I 
could  do  under  the  circumstances,  I  returned 
home." 

A  little  party,  consisting  of  the  coroner  and 
clerk,  Rudger,  Mr?  Holston  and  four  or  five  others 
proceeded  to  the  spot  where  the  murder  was  com- 
mitted. When  they  reached  it  the  sun  was 
setting,  and  a  group  of  awe-stricken  and  silent 
people  were  standing  around  Brother  Standing's 
body.  It  was  a  solemn  and  impressive  scene. 

Eudger  involuntarily  approached  the  corpse 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  43 

and  discovered  that  some  one  had  taken  the  hat 
from  under  the  head  and  placed  it  over  the  face 
of  the  dead.  He  removed  this  temporary  cover- 
ing and  looked  into  the  now  inanimate  counte- 
nance of  his  late  companion  and  friend.  His  eyes 
were  saluted  with  a  fresh  horror.  The  fiends 
incarnate  who  had  slain  an  innocent  and  unof- 
fending man  in  cold  blood  had  not  been  satisfied 
with  inflicting  a  simple  death  wound.  While  he 
lay  there  in  his  blood  and  the  cold  grasp  of  death, 
they  had  approached  their  victim  and  shot  into 
one  side  of  his  face  and  neck  until  they  were 
fairly  riddled  with  bullets.  Those  who  discharged 
the  weapons  used  for  this  atrocious  work  must 
have  stood  directly  over  the  body,  the  parts  in 
which  the  leaden  messengers  were  buried  being 
powder-burnt. 

On  first  reflection  the  theory  that  suggests  itself 
as  to  the  incentive  that  led  to  this  barbarous 
climax  to  a  bloody  outrage  is  that  the  perpetra- 
tors were  inspired  with  unmitigated  satanic  hate 
that  reached  beyond  this  life  and  stepped  into  the 
precincts  of  death.  Bad  and  depraved  as  these 
wretches  were,  such  an  explanation  is  probably 
incorrect.  The  first  mortal  wound  was  inflicted 
by  one  member  of  the  party.  Yet  all  were  acces- 
sory to,  before  and  after  the  fact.  It  is  not  unusual 


44  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

for  men  who  commit  a  common  crime  to  enter 
into  compacts  to  stand  by  each  other  for  mutual 
protection  against  the  just  reward  of  their  deeds. 
It  is  likely  therefore  that  those  men  agreed  to 
stand  upon  an  undoubted  common  ground  in 
regard  to  the  assassination  of  Joseph  Standing, 
and  to  make  the  obligation  and  understanding 
-complete  each  actually  fired  into  the  person  of 
the  victim. 

A  jury  was  empanelled  on  the  spot  and  an 
inquest  held  by  the  coroner.  The  testimony  of 
Rudger  Clawson,  Henry  Holston  and  others  was 
taken.  It  was  on  information  imparted  by  Mr. 
Holston  and  some  others  who  testified  that  the 
names  of  the  actual  murderers  were  obtained. 
This  enabled  the  jury  to  return  a  clearly  defined 
verdict,  which  was  to  the  effect  that  the  deceased 
came  to  his  death  by  twenty  gunshot  wounds, 
inflicted  by  means  of  weapons  in  the  hands  of 
the  twelve  men  whose  names  are  given  near  the 
beginning  of  this  narrative. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  45 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  Friend  in  need.— A  sad  Procession.— Rudger's  melan- 
choly Task.— Arrival  of  the  Officers  of  the  Law.— Dif- 
ficulties met  in  preparing  the  Body  for  transporta- 
tion.—The  arrival  Home. 

| HEN  the  inquest  was  concluded,  a  momen- 
tous question  was  broached  by  the  coroner 
he  said:  "What  is  to  be  done  with  the  body?" 

Not  a  soul  responded,  and  an  unbroken  silence 
pervaded  the  party  for  several  minutes.  No  one 
appeared  willing  to  take  the  risk  of  becoming  by 
the  performance  of  a  humane  and  friendly  act,  a 
probable  victim  of  anti-" Mormon"  hate  and  venge- 
ance. It  was  a  trying  and  critical  moment  for 
poor  Rudger,  who  stood  apparently  alone  and 
friendless  in  a  strange  country,  under  circum- 
stances of  a  most  perplexing  as  well  as  sorrowful 
character.  Of  course  he  could  say  nothing. 

There  was  one  man  who  had  stood  by  him 
thus  far.  Had  his  friendship  faded?  As  this 
reflection  passed  through  Rudger's  mind  that 
same  person — the  noble  and  generous-hearted 
Holston— broke  the  stillness  and  said :  "  Take  the 
body  to  my  house." 


46  THE  MARTYRDOM   OF 

A  large,  wide  plank  was  procured  from  an 
adjacent  deserted  cabin.  Upon  this  the  corpse 
was  laid.  Four  pieces  of  wood  were  placed  under 
the  board,  so  that  eight  men  could  carry  the 
inanimate  burden.  Rudger,  the  coroner  and 
Mr.  Holston  were  among  the  pall-bearers  who 
carried  this  rude,  extemporized  bier.  The  others 
were  promiscuous  persons  who  had  gathered  to 
the  spot  from  curiosity. 

By  the  time  the  sad  procession  were  ready  to 
march  through  the  woods  it  was  dark.  They 
had  moved  but  a  short  distance  until  the  gloom 
was  impenetrable.  There  was  no  symptom  of  a 
breeze;  not  even  enough  to  stir  a  leaf.  Nothing 
was  heard  but  the  dull  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of  the 
bier-bearers,  and  the  resounding  echo  of  their  foot- 
falls, which  were  necessarily  regular  to  maintain 
the  balance  of  the  burden.  The  sombre  nature 
of  the  whole  incident  was  painful  in  the  extreme, 
and  especially  so  to  him  who  was  helping  to  bear 
the  body  of  his  murdered  friend,  brother  and 
companion. 

This  monotonous  gloom  was  suddenly  relieved 
by  the  human  voice.  The  coroner  addressed 
Rudger:  "What  disposition  do  you  propose  to 
make  of  the  corpse?" 

"  I  intend  to  take  it  home  to  Utah." 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  47 

"  I  think  such  an  idea  is  preposterous.  I  do 
not  believe  you  could  find  a  railway  company 
who  would  give  you  transportation  for  it,  and 
even  if  you  did  they  would  probably  throw  it  off 
somewhere  on  the  road.  It  appears  to  me  that 
the  better  way  would  be  to  bury  the  body  here, 
and  then,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years,  the 
bones  could  be  taken  up  and  removed  to  any 
point  that  might  be  desired." 

"  I  view  the  matter  quite  differently,"  was  the 
resolute  response.  "I  feel  that  the  spirit  of  Elder 
Standing  would  never  be  satisfied  to  have  his 
body  buried  where  he  was  murdered.  He  would 
prefer  it  to  be  laid  away  in  the  land  where  his 
friends  and  kindred  dwell.  I  should  feel  so  if  I 
were  in  his  place,  and  I  intend  doing  in  regard  to 
him  as  I  would  wish  should  be  done  by  me  under 
similar  circumstances." 

This  ended  the  conversation,  and  the  bearers 
of  the  body  soon  reached  Mr.  Holston's  house. 

A  rude  support  was  constructed  in  the  front 
yard  of  the  premises,  and  on  this  the  plank  upon 
which  the  body  lay  was  placed. 

At  this  juncture  a  new  difficulty  presented 
itself — no  person  present  knew  anything  about 
preparing  a  corpse  for  the  casket.  In  this  di- 
lemma Rudger,  who  had  never  had  the  slightest 


48  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

experience  in  that  line,  was  under  the  necessity 
of  undertaking  the  task. 

A  tallow  candle  was  procured  and  placed  near 
the  head  of  the  body.  A  vessel  of  warm  water 
was  brought  and  with  these  materials  and  some 
cloths  Rudger  proceeded  with  the  melancholy  and 
distressing  work  before  him.  It  was  a  difficult 
duty,  as  the  blood  that  had  flowed  from  the 
wounds  was  spread  over  the*  head,  face  and  neck 
of  the  corpse  and  had  dried  into  a  thick  crust, 
the  hair  being  all  clogged  and  matted.  This  labor 
of  love  and  friendship  occupied  a  full  hour,  the 
operator  receiving  no  assistance  or  aid  from  the 
group  of  curious  on-lookers,  who  stood  around 
and  gazed  upon  the  weird  spectacle. 

The  scene  must  be  largely  left  to  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  reader.  Its  constituents  were  unique 
as  well  as  solemn.  The  deepest  silence  prevailed, 
the  intense  darkness  was  only  relieved  by  the  dull 
rays  of  a  tallow  candle,  whose  dim  flicker  revealed 
the  ghastly  face  of  the  dead,  and  the  sad  and  ear- 
nest countenance  and  form  of  the  young  man  who 
was  performing  some  of  the  last  offices  of  affection 
for  his  deceased  friend.  The  awe-stricken  spectators 
who- were  thrown  into  partial  relief  by  the  sub- 
dued light  of  the  sickly  dip.  The  huge  trees, 
though  scarcely  perceptible,  formed  a  fitting  frame 


JOSEPH   STANDING,  49 

to  the  gloomy  picture.  Added  to  this  were  the 
furtive  and  fearful  glances  cast  by  the  people  into 
the  dense  darkness  beyond,  as  if  they  anticipated 
that  at  any  moment  the  quiet  of  the  place  might 
be  suddenly  interrupted  by  an  incursion  of  blood- 
thirsty anti-"  Mormon  "  mobocrats. 

Finally  Rudger 's  dreary  task  was  finished,  the 
body  being  washed,  and  clothed  in  clean  gar- 
ments. A  sheet  was  thrown  over  the  corpse  and 
all  retired  into  the  house. 

About  this  time  the  sheriff  of  Whitfield  Coun- 
ty, accompanied  by  a  deputy  and  posse,  arrived 
from  Dalton,  a  town  of  9,000  inhabitants,  dis- 
tant about  twelve  miles.  This  officer  was  a  tall, 
sinewy  man,  of  tawny  complexion.  His  hair  was 
turning  grey,  and  he  had  the  appearance  of  a 
person  of  about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was  ex- 
ceedingly demonstrative  and  made  strong  pro- 
fessions of  interest  in  Rudger.  To  the  latter  this 
was  quite  refreshing,  because  it  was  something 
new,  for  even  Mr.  Holston  was  not  loud  in  his 
manifestations  of  friendliness.  His  friendship 
was  evinced  by  acts  more  than  words.  Alto- 
gether Rudger  thought  the  sheriff  a  pretty  good 
fellow,  but  was  not  favorably  impressed  by  his- 
deputy,  a  short,  dumpy  man,  approaching  middle 
age,  who  was  quite  reserved. 


50  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

Said  the  sheriff:  "  Mr.  Clawson,  I  very  much 
regret  that  such  a  cold-blooded  murder  should 
have  occurred  in  my  county.  I  can  assure  you 
that  every  possible  effort  will  be  made  to  capture 
the  perpetrators  and  bring  them  to  justice." 

The  officer  was  informed  of  the  fact  that  seven 
of  the  assassins  had  been  seen  traveling  with  hot 
haste  toward  the  Tennessee  border. 

The  posse  then  left,  and,  as  it  was  approaching 
midnight,  Rudger  retired  to  rest  after  passing 
through  an  experience  in  one  brief  day  that  has 
but  few  parallels  in  individual  history.  He  slept 
in  undisturbed  soundness  until  the  blaze  of  the 
following  day  had  appeared  in  the  full  flush  of 
its  brilliance. 

A  cursory  examination  revealed  the  fact  that 
Elder  Standing's  body  had  begun  to  decompose. 
Rudger  at  once  set  out  for  Dalton  to  obtain  a 
metallic  casket.  He  had  on  a  former  occasion 
visited  that  place  in  c6mpany  with  his  late  de- 
ceased companion,  the  news  of  whose  assassina- 
tion was  now  well  known  throughout  the  town. 
It  caused  a  profound  sensation,  and  Rudger,  be- 
ing recognized,  was  a  centre  of  attraction  and 
curiosity.  He  was  plied  with  questions  and  ad- 
vice on  every  hand.  He  was  advised  strongly 
not  to  return  to  the  vicinity  of  Varnell's  to  get 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  51 

the  body,  as  those  who  thus  counseled  him  be- 
lieved if  he  did  his  life  would  be  taken.  The 
reply  to  all  this  was  that  he  should  go  in  any 
event,  no  matter  as  to  the  risk  he  might  run. 

Rudger  had  no  money,  but  the  undertaker  let 
him  have  the  casket,  and  forwarded  it  by  con- 
veyance to  Holston's,  he  taking  the  young  man's 
word  that  he  would  obtain  means  for  payment 
within  a  few  days.  Accordingly  he  telegraphed 
to  Benedict,  Hall  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  for  $200, 
which  was  promptly  furnished,  with  an  assurance 
from  that  firm  that  they  could  be  commanded 
for  any  further  amount  that  might  be  needed. 

Rudger,  accompanied  by  an  employe  of  the 
undertaker's,  followed  the  casket  in  a  buggy.  On 
the  way  he  related  the  circumstances  of  the  mur- 
der to  his  companion.  He  soon  questioned  his 
own  prudence  in  doing  this,  as  the  narrative  so 
excited  that  individual  that  he  became  almost 
panic-stricken.  Every  now  and  then  he  would  lean 
out  of  the  vehicle  and  peer  into  the  woods  and 
along  the  road.  He  seemed  to  take  every  clump 
for  a  group  of  anti-"Mormon"  mobbers  in  am- 
bush, and  each  bare  and  projecting  limb  of  a 
blighted  tree  seemed  in  his  eyes  to  take  the  form 
of  a  shotgun.  His  exclamations  erstwhile  were 
in  unison  with  his  movements. 


52  THE   MARTYRDOM   OP 

Holston's  was  reached  at  about  five  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  The  body  was  soon  enclosed,  in  the 
metallic  casket,  and  the  undertaker's  employe  left 
for  the  place  from  whence  he  came. 

Next  morning  it  was  discovered  that  a  fearful 
stench  emitted  from  the  casket,  not  only  showing 
that  decomposition  was  advancing  rapidly,  but 
also  that  the  case  was  not  hermetically  sealed. 
This  necessitated  the  conveyance  of  the  body  to 
Dalton  for  re-enclosure.  To  accomplish  this  the 
services  of  a  team,  wagon  and  driver  and  a  couple 
of  scouts,  were  engaged.  The  latter  were  on  foot 
and  walked  about  ten  or  fifteen  rods  ahead  of  the 
wagon  containing  the  corpse.  Rudger  rode  on  the 
vehicle  in  company  with  the  driver. 

The  employment  of  scouts  was  a  precautionary 
measure  against  a  sudden  surprise,  as  the  road  to 
Dalton  passed  through  VarnelPs  Station,  the 
vicinity  where  Standing's  murderers  resided. 

When  within  about  half  a  mile  of  Varnell's, 
Rudger  said  to  the  teamster : 

"Are  you  armed?" 

"Yes,"  was  the  meek  response,  the  driver  at 
the  same  time  producing  from  the  pocket  of  his 
coat  a  very  innocent-looking  weapon  in  the  shape 
of  a  pistol  a  few  inches  long,  of  the  pepper-box 
pattern,  and  of  an  antiquated  appearance  generally. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  53 

The  harmless  aspect  of  this  article,  which  was 
barely  entitled  to  be  designated  a  firearm,  caused 
Rudger  to  smile.  Being  the  most  formidable 
weapon  within  reach,  however,  he  borrowed  it, 
got  out  of  the  wagon  and  tramped  through  the 
woods,  so  as  to  give  Yarn  ell's  as  wide  a  berth  as 
practicable,  while  the  team  went  straight  on. 
Notwithstanding  the  puny  character  of  the  pep- 
per-box, in  making  that  circuit  he  derived  some 
comfort  from  its  temporary  possession,  and 
marched  along  with  it  in  his  hand,  cocked  and 
ready  for  action. 

Dalton  was  reached  in  safety.  The  undertaker, 
instead  of  removing  the  body  from  the  case  in 
which  it  was  enclosed,  simply  made  a  very  large 
one,  placed  the  other  in  it  and  filled  the  interven- 
ing space  with  cinders  and  dust  from  a  locomo- 
tive. This  material  being  heavy,  the  combined 
weight  of  the  body  and  casing  was  thus  increased 
to  nearly  nine  hundred  pounds. 

In  this  shape  the  corpse  was  conveyed  by  rail 
to  Utah,  where  Rudger  arrived  in  charge  of  it  on 
the  first  day  of  August,  1879.  The  news  of  the 
tragedy  had  created  a  deep  sensation  in  the  com- 
munity of  Latter-day  Saints.  At  Ogden  a  brass 
band,  an  organized  body  of  members  of  the  Young 
Men's  Improvement  Associations,  and  a  multi- 


54  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

tude  of  other  people  awaited  the  arrival  at  the 
depot  of  that  town.  In  Salt  Lake  also  a  con- 
course of  people  had  assembled  at  the  Utah  Cen- 
tral railway  station.  By  the  time  Rudger  and  his 
sacred  charge  reached  that  point,  however,  night 
had  cast  its  sombre  mantle  over  the  city  of  the 
Saints,  and  the  body  of  the  youthful  martyr  was 
taken  directly  to  the  office  of  Sexton  Taylor. 

The  obsequies  were  conducted  in  the  Tabernacle 
on  Sunday,  August  3d,  in  the  presence  of  about 
10,000  people.  The  speakers  on  the  occasion  were 
President  John  Taylor  and  President  George  Q. 
Cannon. 

The  body  was  interred,  in  the  Salt  Lake  City 
cemetery,  the  same  day. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Rudger  returns  to  Georgia  in  the  capacity  of  a  Witness.— 
Holstoii's  Peril. —  How  the  Murderers  were  captured. — 
The  Trial.  —  Attendant  Circumstances.— The  Result.— 
Rudger  returns  Home. — Memento  of  the  young  Martyr, 

Rudger  had  been  at  home  about 
eight  months,  he  received  a  subpoena 
issued  by  the  Circuit  Court  of  Whitfield  County, 
Georgia,  requiring  him  to  appear  at  Dalton  the 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  55 

following  October  (1880),  and  testify  in  the  cases 
of  Jasper  N.  Nations,  Andrew  Bradley  and  Hugh 
Blair,  charged  with  the  killing  of  Joseph  Standing. 

He  consulted  with  President  John  Taylor,  who 
informed  him  that  as  he  was  the  person  who 
would  have  to  assume  any  personal  risk  that 
might  be  involved  in  the  matter,  he  desired  him 
to  go  or  not,  as  he  might  elect.  He  decided  to 
respond  to  the  subpoena,  independent  of  any 
regard  for  his  personal  safety. 

Accordingly  he  made  his  appearance  in  Dalton 
in  September,  1880,  where  he  was  joined  by  Elder 
John  Morgan,  the  President  of  the  Southern 
States  Mission. 

He  foun.d  the  feeling  amongst  the  populace  of 
that  place  to  be  exceedingly  bitter,  there  being 
imminent  danger  of  an  outbreak  of  open  hostility. 
He  had  a  duty  to  perform,  however,  and  he  was 
determined  to  accomplish  it,  so  that  the  people 
of  the  State  of  Georgia  might  not  have  it  to  say 
that  the  murderers  of  Elder  Standing  went  uii- 
whipped  of  justice  because  the  prosecuting  wit- 
ness had  failed  to  do  his  part  in  the  premises. 

At  Dalton,  Rudger  met  with  his  friend  Henry 
Holston.  He  had  previously  informed  that  gentle- 
man that  he  would  return  and  attend  the  trial. 
He  never  forgot  that  declaration.  Numbers  of 


56  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

men,  on  account  of  the  inimical  feeling  that  had 
been  worked  up  against  Rudger,  declared  he 
would  never  come  back.  Holston  always  ex- 
pressed his  confidence  that  he  would,  however, 
although  one  man  offered  to  bet  him  fifty 
dollars  and  another  a  horse  that  he  was  mis- 
taken. As  may  be  imagined,  he  was  exceed- 
ingly pleased  to  find  his  expectation  vindicated. 

In  the  meantime,  Mr.  Holston  had  passed 
through  a  trying  ordeal,  which  may  as  well  be 
told,  as  near  as  can  be,  in  his  own  words. 

He  said  to  Rudger: 

"After  you  left,  the  whole  community  where 
I  lived  turned  against  me,  so  that  it  appeared  as 
if  I  had  no  friends.  Those  who  may  have  been 
kindly  disposed  were  afraid  to  exhibit  that  feeling, 
because  of  the  danger  of  their  incurring  the  same 
hatred  to  which  I  was  subjected.  My  life  has 
been  threatened  over  and  over  again,  and  I  know 
that  the  friends  of  the  men  who  murdered  Stand- 
ing thirst  for  my  blood. 

"  I  have  been  constantly  on  the  watch,  and  one 
of  the  first  things  I  did  was  to  increase  my 
weapons  of  defense.  In  addition  to  my  gun,  I 
procured  a  brace  of  Colt's  navy  revolvers,  because 
I  knew  that  the  mobbers  might  attack  my  place 
any  night. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  57 

"It  was  well  that  I  took  these  precautions. 
One  very  dark  night  I  went  to  a  window  and 
looked  out.  I  saw,  close  to  the  gate  that  leads 
into  the  yard,  a  man  on  horseback,  silent  and 
motionless.  I  knew  he  was  not  alone,  and  was 
well  aware  of  the  purpose  of  the  visit.  There  is 
no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  there  were  other  noc- 
turnal visitors,  at  a  convenient  distance,  in  am- 
bush. I  did  not  hesitate  about  the  course  I  should 
pursue.  I  placed  my  revolver  at  full  cock,  then 
brought  my  watch-dog,  a  large,  faithful  animal, 
to  my  side.  Quick  as  a  flash,  I  opened  the  door. 
The  dog  bounded  through  the  opening,  flew  down 
the  path  and  made  a  spring  at  the  horseman. 
The  brute  barely  missed  his  aim. 

"  In  the  meantime,  I  was  not  idle.  Following 
close  upon  the  heels  of  the  dog  I  ran  toward  the 
gate,  firing  rapidly  at  the  retreating  prowler, 
who  sped  with  all  the  fleetness  possible  until  the 
sound  of  his  horse's  hoofs  ceased  to  fall  upon  the 
ear.  I  knew  that  he  and  his  companions  —who- 
ever they  were  —  would  trouble  me  no  more  that 
night,  as  they  were  doubtless  much  more  scared 
than  I  was. 

"  If  that  dog  had  got  a  hold  on  that  fellow  he 
never  would  have  let  go.  He  would  have  dragged 
him  to  the  earth  and  I  would  have  done  the  rest. 


58  THE   MARTYKDOM   OF 

I  should  certainly  have  killed  him.  I  would  have 
been  vindicated  in  doing  so,  as  there  is  a  law  of 
Georgia  which  protects  a  person  who  slays  an- 
other under  circumstances  of  that  character. 

"  I  know  that  my  life  is  in  danger,  and  if  any 
of  these  men  come  upon  my  premises  I  shall  shoot 
them  down  like  dogs." 

No  one  who  might  hear  his  recital,  see  his 
gleaming  eyes  as  he  spoke,  and  observe  the  man- 
ner in  which  he — according  to  his  habit  when 
speaking  resolutely — pushed  the  fingers  of  his 
right  hand  through  his  sandy  hair,  making  it 
stand  erect  and  causing  it  to  add  to  the  fierceness 
of  his  aspect,  had  any  reason  to  doubt  his  asser- 
tion. He  was  known  to  be  courageous  and  deter- 
mined, and  doubtless  his  enemies  were  afraid  of 
him.  Had  it  not  been  for  those  characteristics  he 
would  probably  not  have  been  alive  to  tell  of  this 
night  adventure.  He  said,  however,  that  his 
position  was  so  unsafe  that  he  would  be  obliged 
to  leave  that  part  of  the  country,  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  he  subsequently  did  so. 

It  was  stated  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  narrative 
that  Rudger  was  favorably  impressed  with  the 
sheriff  of  Whitfield  County,  but  felt  otherwise 
regarding  his  more  undemonstrative  deputy. 

He  met  the  latter  at  Dalton,  and  according  to 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  50 

a  statement  made  by  him  the  estimate  of  the  rela- 
tive character  of  the  two  men  was  incorrect. 

It  often  occurs  in  life  that  men  who  boast  the 
most  about  their  capabilities  and  intentions  show 
to  the  least  advantage  when  it  comes  to  actual 
work.  These  loud  individuals  are,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  too  frequently  measured  from  the  basis  of 
their  pretentions.  The  consequence  is  that  the 
estimate  is  generally  much  more  capacious  than 
the  article  to  which  it  refers.  On  the  other  hand 
those  who  are  reticent  about  what  they  are  capable 
of  and  purpose  doing  are  the  men  to  act  in  an 
emergency.  Yet  their  modesty,  exhibited  ahead 
of  the  attainment  of  any  specified  undertaking, 
occasionally  causes  them  to  be  placed  below  par 
in  comparative  estimation. 

The  story  told  by  the  deputy  regarding  the 
capture  of  the  three  murderers  shortly  to  be  put 
on  their  trial  was  not  only  related  with  un- 
equivocal directness,  but  no  circumstance  subse- 
quently learned  appeared  in  the  least  degree  to 
tarnish  its  truthfulness.  It  is  herewith  given,  as 
related  by  the  officer: 

"  When  the  sheriff,  myself  and  posse  left  Hols- 
ton's  on  the  night  of  the  day  that  Standing  was 
murdered,  we  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when 
the  chief  officer  of  the  party  said  to  me :  '  I  guess 


60  THE    MARTYRDOM   OF 

Ave  had  better  give  up  the  idea  of  hunting  the 
men  who  killed  Standing.  The  man  they  mur- 
dered was  only  a '  Mormon/  and  it  doesn't  matter 
about  the  perpetrators  being  brought  to  justice/" 

"I  replied :  '  On  the  contrary  I  think  it  matters 
a  great  deal,  and  if  you  do  not  pursue  those  men 
and  do  all  in  your  power  to  arrest  them  I  shall 
report  you  to  the  court.' 

"This  had  the  effect  of  intimidating  the  sheriff. 
We  traveled  all  that  night,  going  over  the  border 
into  Tennessee,  and  all  the  next  day.  In  the 
evening  we  came  in  sight  of  an  isolated  house, 
and  satisfied  ourselves,  by  indisputable  evidence, 
that  some  of  the  men  we  wanted  were  within. 
We  took  no  immediate  steps,  but  surrounded  the 
house  and  waited  till  next  morning. 

"At  daylight  a  member  of  our  posse  was  sent  to 
the  door  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  men  we 
were  after.  A  woman  appeared,  she  denied  that 
they  were  there.  She  was  told,  however,  that  we 
knew  they  were  secreted  in  the  house,  and  that  if 
they  did  not  come  out  the  posse  would  fire  into 
the  building. 

"This  had  the  desired  effect,  for  in  a  short  time 
Andrew  Bradley,  Jasper  N.  Nations  and  Hugh 
Blair  came  out  and  surrendered. 

"  The  news  of  the  capture  spread  through  the 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  61 

neighborhood  like  wild-fire,  and  in  a  short  time  a 
crowd  collected,  the  people  coming  from  every 
direction.  They  were  greatly  excited,  and  threats 
of  a  rescue  were  made.  We  were  told  that  we 
would  never  reach  the  jail  with  the  prisoners. 

"The  sheriff  was  overawed  and  passive,  and 
the  situation  critical.  I  was  forced,  under  the 
circumstances,  to  assume  the  lead. 

" '  You  shall  see  whether  we  will  take  them  to 
jail,'  I  exclaimed. 

"We  placed  the  three  prisoners  on  as  many 
horses.  This  done  they  were  brought  close  to- 
gether, abreast.  We  then  took  a  chain  and 
fastened  it  around  the  neck  of  each,  by  means  of 
looping,  secured  by  padlocks. 

"  Turning  to  the  threatening  crowd,  I  said :  We 
shall  take  these  men  to  prison  or  they  shall  die. 
The  first  movement  toward  their  rescue  shall  be 
the  signal  for  us  to  shoot  them  down,  and  after 
that  we  will  fight  for  our  lives. 

"  We  then  started  for  Dalton,  and  having  neces- 
sarily to  travel  slowly,  were  a  considerable  time 
on  the  way.  We  reached  there  without  being 
molested*,  however,  although  the  chances  appeared 
strong  when  the  capture  was  made  that  there 
would  be  trouble  and  bloodshed. 

"  Shortly  after  they  were  placed  in  jail,  the  pris- 


62  THE    MARTYRDOM   OF 

oners  were  released  on  furnishing  bail  to  the 
amount  of  $5,000  each." 

Rudger  met  the  three  murderers  several  times 
on  the  streets.  He  recognized  them  at  once  as 
members  of  the  gang  who  committed  the  bloody 
crime.  Nations  was  about  thirty-five  years  old, 
tall,  dark  and  swarthy,  and  wore  a  pointed  black 
beard.  Bradley  was  aged  about  forty-eight  years 
and  of  heavy  build.  He  had  a  broad  face  and 
large  nose,  being  altogether  a  coarse  and  brutal 
appearing  specimen  of  humanity.  Blair  was 
aged  about  thirty  years,  and  had  a  boyish,  imma- 
ture appearance. 

Elder  Clawson  went  before  the  grand  jury  and 
told  the  story  of  the  murder.  Henry  Holston, 
Mary  Hamlin  and  Jonathan  Owensby  also  testi- 
fied before  the  same  body.  The  result  was  that 
the  three  men  accused  were  indicted  on  three 
counts — murder  in  the  first  degree,  manslaughter, 
and  riot.  The  reason  for  this  tripartite  action 
was  that,  in  case  the  defendants  should  be  acquited 
on  the  most  serious  charge,  they  might  be  con- 
victed of  one  of  the  others. 

The  finding  of  a  true  bill  in  the  case  caused 
considerable  surprise,  as  it  was  popularly  expected 
that  the  charges  would  be  ignored. 

Rudger  and  Elder  Morgan  had  an  interview 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  63 

with  Solicitor-General  A.  T.  Hackett,  in  charge  of 
the  prosecution.  That  officer  seemed  to  be  fair- 
minded  and  expressed  his  purpose  to  use  every 
legitimate  effort  to  bring  the  murderers  to  justice. 
The  brethren  also  secured  the  services  in  behalf 
of  the  prosecution,  of  Col.  W.  R.  Moore,  an  attor- 
ney of  established  ability. 

Five  attorneys  were  engaged  on  the  side  of  the 
defense. 

In  a  few  days  the  trial  of  Jasper  N.  Nations  was 
begun,  Judge  McCutchen,  a  gentleman  about  sixty 
years  old,  and  somewhat  similar  in  personal 
appearance  to  Judge  C.  S.  Zane,  was  on  the  bench. 

Considerable  time  was  consumed  in  procuring 
a  jury.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were 
examined  before  a  full  panel  was  obtained.  The 
difficulty  arose  from  a  general  reluctance  to  serve 
on  the  case.  Notwithstanding  the  popular  feeling 
in  favor  of  the  accused,  doubtless  it  was  widely 
believed  they  were  guilty.  The  disinclination  to 
sit  on  the  jury  was  evidently  caused  by  the  fact 
that  the  position  presented  a  probable  dilemma, 
neither  horn  of  which  was  attractive.  To  decide 
against  the  accused — should  the  evidence  warrant 
it — would  subject  the  jury  to  a  storm  of  popular 
anger;  to  find,  in  that  situation,  in  favor  of  the 
defendants  and  thus  act  in  opposition  to  the  law 


64  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

and  the  facts  would  place  a  man  in  whom  there 
existed  a  scintilla  of  conscience,  in  an  unpleas- 
ant position.  To  avoid  either  contingency  the 
worming-out  process  on  various  subterfuges  was 
liberally  resorted  to. 

When  the  panel  of  twelve  men,  supposed  to  be 
"good  and  true,"  was  filled,  a  glance  sufficed  to 
create  the  impression  that  the  box  included  a  very 
hard-looking  set. 

In  cases  involving  the  guilt  of  three  or  more 
persons,  the  law  of  Georgia  allows  a  separate  trial 
to  each,  should  he  so  elect,  and  the  introduction 
of  the  other  accused  persons  as  witnesses.  This 
line  of  action  was  adopted  by  the  defendants,  and 
Jasper  N.  Nations  was  first  placed  on  trial  on  the 
count  of  the  indictment  charging  murder  in  the 
first  degree. 

The  interest  in  the  case  was  so  intense  that  it 
was  said  to  be  unparalleled  in  that  part  of  the 
coantry.  As  a  consequence  the  court-room  was 
crowded  to  excess  during  each  session. 

Among  the  five  lawyers  engaged  on  the  defense 
was  a  young  attorney  named  Williamson.  He 
was  unusually  tall  and  slender.  He  was  fair, 
with  light  hair  and  a  moustache  of  similar  hue. 
He  seemed  "to  be  as  dotingly  fond  of  the  latter 
article  as  the  average  maiden  lady  of  uncertain 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  65 

age  is  of  a  favorite  cat,  and  as  frequently  caress- 
ingly stroked  it. 

This  was  his  first  case,  as  he  was  just  launch- 
ing out  into  the  troubled  sea  which  opens  up  to 
the  ambitious  youth  who  aspires  to  such  legal 
honors  as  were  attained  by  a  Blackstone,  a  Mar- 
shall or  a  Blatik.  He  was  evidently  inflated  at  the 
sudden  prominence  in  which  he  found  himself. 
He  assumed  a  look  of  solemn  gravity,  and  made 
himself  what  is  vulgarly  called  "numerous,"  to 
the  no  small  amusement  of  some  of  the  spectators 
shrewd  enough  to  penetrate  the  flimsy  crust  of 
ostentation  in  which  the  deluded  young  man  envel- 
oped himself. 

He  was  full  of  suggestions,  and  kept  stretching 
his  neck,  a  la  crane,  to  catch  with  nice  accuracy 
some  statement  that  was  being  made.  Then  he 
would  lean  over  the  table  and  whisper,  with  an 
air  of  mystery,  some  supposed  important  hint  to 
associate  counsel.  Following  up  this  line  of  ac- 
tion he  would  express  himself  openly  upon  some 
point  with  a  manner  which  indicated  that  when 
he  ventured  upon  an  elucidation  it  ought  to  be  the 
end  of  controversy.  Then  he  would  walk  over  to 
where  some  member  of  the  bar  was  seated  and 
make  some  facetious  confidential  remark,  pro- 
ducing a  mechanical  smile  upon  the  face  of  his 

5 


66  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

listener,  who  evidently  supposed  he  was  expected  to 
indicate  that  he  had  heard  something  which  em- 
bodied a  vein  of  humor.  Then  the  young  fellow 
would  stride  to  and  fro  across  the  bar  with  his 
hands  deep  down  in  his  breeches  pockets,  except 
when  one  was  occasionally  withdrawn  in  order  to 
pass  it  through  his  hair,  to  make  it  stand  up  and 
give  the  person  whose  head  it  adorned  a  more 
severely  intellectual  appearance,  his  eye-brows 
being  meanwhile  knitted  after  the  manner  of 
a  man  contemplating  a  difficult  problem  for 
the  purpose  of  clearing  up  its  more  mysterious 
depths. 

To  the  reader  who  has  frequented  the  Third 
Judicial  District  Court  of  Utah,  this  picture  will 
not  appear  to  be  over-drawn,  for  there  occasion- 
ally has  its  counter-part  been  presented.  We 
have  seen  it  several  times  repeated. 

While  the  trial  was  in  progress  the  editor  of  the 
Atlanta  Constitution,  one  of  the  most  influential 
papers  published  in  Georgia,  paid  a  personal  visit 
to  Dal  ton,  for  the  express  purpose  of  getting  a 
clear  statement  of  the  facts.  He  secured  the  assist- 
ance of  Mr.  Williamson,  the  young  attorney,  who 
was  not  only  willing  but  eager  to  write- an  article 
on  the  subject.  He  did  so  and  placed  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  editor. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  67 

The  latter  called  at  the  hotel  where  Rudger  and 
Elder  Morgan  were  stopping  and  handed  to  them 
Williamson's  statement,  at  the  same  time  -giving 
them  the  privilege  of  correcting  any  inaccuracies 
that  it  might  embody  and  of  making  any  adcfi- 
tions  that  they  might,  from  their  knowledge  of 
the  facts,  deem  necessary. 

This  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  as  the  statement 
was  discolored,  distorted  and  altogether  far  from 
being  fair.  It  was  specially  penned  so  as  to  favor 
the  defendants.  Misstatements'were  corrected  and 
additions  made,  and  by  the  time  it  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  editor  again  it  was  pretty  thor- 
oughly metamorphised,  and  presented  a  fair  and 
just  elucidation  of  the  tragedy,  and  facts  con- 
nected with  it. 

Next  day  Mr.  Williamson  carried  the  indis- 
putable appearance  of  a  man  laboring  under  an 
attack  of  abstraction.  His  mind  was  evidently 
not  on  the  case  in  progress.  He  was  restless  and 
anxious.  There  was  something  that  he  esteemed 
to  be  weighty  resting  upon  his  mind.  The  fact 
is  he  was  impatiently  looking  for  the  arrival  of 
the  latest  issue  of  the  Atlanta  Constitution.  He 
cast  occasional  furtive  glances  toward  the  door, 
and  at  last  he  was  relieved  by  the  appearance 
thereat  of  the  festive  newsboy.  He  darted  toward 


68  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

him,  secured  a  copy,  plunged  into  a  chair  and  be- 
gan the  perusal  of  his  alleged  article. 

These  movements  were  watched  with  some 
amusement  by  Eudger.  The  reader  of  the  paper 
appeared  to  get  along  well  enough  until  he 
reached  a  point  below  the  first  paragraph,  when 
his  face  became  clouded.  As  he  progressed  the 
facial  darkness  deepened.  He  cast  a  half-inquir- 
ing, half-indignant  glance  at  Eudger,  but  the  latter 
was  looking  innocently  into  space,  as  if  oblivious 
to  any  of  his  surroundings.  He  then  put  the 
paper  down  a  moment ;  took  it  up  again ;  read  a 
little  more;  made  a  remark  to  a  brother  at- 
torney, and  finally  gave  up  the  perusal  of  the 
sheet  with  a  look  of  disgust,  being  the  effect  of 
the  conclusion  he  had  by  this  time  reached — 
that  the  editor  of  the  Constitution  evidently  had 
neither  confidence  in  his  veracity  nor  his  literary 
ability. 

The  reason  why  the  editor  submitted  William- 
son's article  to  Eudger  and  Elder  Morgan  for 
revision  and  correction  was  ascertained  by  them. 
Certain  scandalous  statements  in  reference  to 
Joseph  Standing  had  appeared  in  the  Constitution 
some  months  before  the  murder.  The  editor 
subsequently  discovered  that  they  were  totally 
untrue  and  he  took  this  course  for  the  purpose  of 


JOSEPH  STANDING.  69 

atoning  in  some  degree  for  the  injury  he  had 
inadvertently  done  to  an  innocent  man. 

Returning  to  the  trial,  Rudger  was  the  first  and 
principal  witness  and  told  a  straight  story  of  -the 
tragedy,  and  the  main  facts  connected  with  it. 

When  under  examination  by  the  attorneys  for 
the  defense  he  was  subjected  to  the  most  disgrace- 
ful brow-beating.  They  forced  him  to  repeat 
different  portions  of  his  statement  over  and  over 
again,  in  the  hope  of  entrapping  him  in  a  con- 
tradiction. They  attributed  assertions  to  him 
that  he  never  made,  and  resorted  to  every  subter- 
fuge they  could  think  of  in  order  to  find  an 
excuse  for  impeaching  his  testimony  and  finally 
proceeding  against  him  for  perjury.  They  were 
baffled,  however,  at  every  turn,  as  his  original 
statements  were  time  and  again  repeated  not  only 
in  substance,  but  as  near  as  possible  in  the  same 
language. 

The  judge  throughout  showed  his  bias  in  favor 
of  the  defense,  and  failed  to  protect  the  witness. 
He  almost  invariably  decided  in  favor  of  that 
side,  in  points  of  dispute  where  a  judicial  ruling 
became  necessary.  There  was  one  point,  how- 
ever, in  which  he  took  the  opposite  course.  The 
defendant's  attorneys  introduced  a  great  deal  of 
irrelevant  matter,  especially  with  regard  to  the 


70  THE   MAKTYRDOM    OF 

"Mormon"  Church.  The  object  of  this  was  to 
prejudice  the  jury  against  the  prosecution  and  in 
favor  of  their  client.  One  question  asked  the 
witness  was — "Are  your  parents  living  in  the 
practice  of  polygamy  and  are  you  a  polygamous 
child?" 

The  witness  declined  to  answer,  and,  remark- 
able to  relate,  the  court  overruled  the  interroga- 
tion as  improper. 

When  an  attorney  for  the  defendant  was  cross- 
examining  Rudger  in  reference  to  his  original 
statement,  he  asked  him  what  was  said  at  a  cer- 
tain stage  of  events  preceding  the  killing.  The 
witness  replied:  "A  member  of  the  gang  said: 
'The  government  of  the  United  States  is  against 
you  and  their  is  no  law  in  Georgia  for  Mormons.' 
Judging  from  the  manner  in  which  this  trial  is 
being  conducted  I  see  LO  reason  to  question  the 
correctness  of  his  assertion." 

This  retort  produced  a  brief  suspension  in  the 
proceedings,  which  were,  however,  shortly  re- 
sumed without  the  "  soft  impeachment "  meeting 
with  a  rebuke. 

Henry  Holston  and  Mary  Hamlin  testified  to 
the  facts  connected  with  the  case  of  which  they 
were  cognizant,  as  heretofore  related  in  this  sketch, 
each  telling  a  direct  and  truthful  story. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  71 

Much  importance  was  attached  to  whatever 
might  be  obtained  from  Jonathan  Owensby.  It 
was  regarded,  owing  to  the  reputation  for  truth- 
fulness of  that  worthy  man,  that  whatever  he 
might  say  would  be  as  good  as  gospel.  So  it  was. 
His  evidence  was  in  unison  with  his  prominent 
trait.  The  precision  with  which  he  narrated 
every  detail  connected  with  his  meeting  the  mob 
with  the  Elders  in  charge,  in  the  woods,  the  re- 
marks made  on  the  occasion,  the  identity  of  the 
members  of  the  gang,  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  armed,  etc.,  showed  that  in  addition  to  a 
clear  conscience,  the  old  man  possessed  a  retentive 
memory  and  fair  powers  of  observation. 

The  prosecution  being  closed,  Andrew  Bradley 
was  placed  on  the  stand  for  the  defense. 

He  was  asked  to  explain  how  it  was  that  he 
was  found  armed  and  in  company  with  a  number 
of  other  men  in  the  same  condition,  on  the  day 
of  the  murder: 

He  said :  "I  concluded  that  I  would  go  hunt- 
ing turkeys,  that  being  the  business  I  was  engaged 
in  on  that  occasion.  I  could  not  explain  how  it 
was  that  I  fell  in  with  those  other  men." 

This  deep  and  lucid  explanation  doubtlesss  had 
great  weight  with  the  jury,  judging  from  the 
result  of  the  trial.  Its  effect  was  perhaps  height- 


72  THE    MARTYRDOM   OF 

ened  by  the  fact  that  Bradley  was  traveling  along 
the  main  road,  which  wild  turkeys  have  suf- 
ficient sense  of  self-protection  to  carefully  avoid. 

Hugh  Blair  was  also  introduced  and  testified. 
He  was  asked  the  same  question.  He  said:  "My 
gun  was  out  of  order  and  I  started  from  my 
place  to  go  to  the  premises  of  my  brother-in- 
law,  a  short  distance  away.  He  kept  a  black- 
smith's shop  and  I  was  going  to  get  him  to 
repair  my  gun.  It  was  while  I  was  on  the  way 
that  I  met  those  men." 

This  statement  was  equally  as  satisfactory  as 
that  given  by  Bradley,  especially  when  it  is  taken 
in  connection  with  the  fact  that  the  murder  was 
committed  on  the  sabbath,  when  all  blacksmiths' 
and  other  shops  are  closed  and  work  in  them 
suspended.  That  part  of  Blair's  proceeding  in 
changing  his  alleged  original  intention  of  having 
his  gun  repaired  on  a  certain  Sunday,  and  accom- 
panying a  band  of  armed  men  and  taking;  part 
in  a  cold-blooded  murder  was  very  prudently 
ignored. 

This  comprised  the  testimony  for  the  defense, 
while  that  given  for  the  prosecution  was  not  only 
direct  but  overwhelming. 

Solicitor-General  Hackett  made  an  able,  though 
brief,  opening  argument  for  the  prosecution. 


JOSEPH   STANDING.  73 

The  speaking  of  the  attorneys  on  the  other 
side  was  lengthy  and  irrelevant.  In  it  the  kill- 
ing was  scarcely  ever  alluded  to.  Old  worn-out 
fabulous  stories  about  "Mormon"  atrocities  were 
dwelt  upon,  and  the  alleged  vagaries  of  Joseph 
Smith  and  Brigham  Young  were  held  up  to  the 
jury,  for  the  plain  purpose  of  prejudicing  them  and 
bringing  about  a  verdict  at  variance  with  the 
facts.  Rudger  was  unsparingly  berated.  His 
action  in  coming  from  Utah  to  Georgia  as  a  wit- 
ness in  the  case  was  characterized  as  an  exhibi- 
tion of  unmitigated  assurance.  It  was  insinuated 
that  he  doubtless  expected  to  obtain  his  fees  and 
mileage  and  thus  deplete  the  county  treasury, 
when  he  might  consider  himself  fortunate  should 
he  succeed  in  getting  away  from  Daltoii  alive. 
This  abuse  intermingled  with  covert  threats  was 
permitted  to  go  unrebuked  by  the  Court. 

Colonel  Moore  made  an  elaborate  and  clear 
argument  for  the  prosecution,  and  the  concluding 
one  was  made  by  General  Hackett. 

The  court  delivered  the  charge.  It  was  of 
such  a  character  that  the  jury  could  not  very 
well  find  a  verdict  of  guilty  and  be  in  accord 
with  it.  The  honorable  judge  appeared  to  make 
it  a  point  to  furnish  a  plausible  excuse  for  them 
to  acquit  the  defendant. 


74  THE   MARTYRDOM   OF 

At  the  end  of  three  days — the  time  occupied 
by  the 'proceedings  thus  far — the  jury  retired. 

While  they  were  absent  and  presumedly  delib- 
erating, a  curious  incident  occurred.  The  sheriff 
came  into  court  dragging  with  him  a  negro, 
whose  eyes  were  rolling  wildly  in  his  head,  his 
grotesque  contortions  giving  every  indication  of 
his  being  in  a  state  of  mortal  terror. 

He  was  charged  with  stealing  a  gallon  of 
whisky.  A  jury  was  empanelled  on  the  spot  and 
he  was  forthwith  tried  and  found  guilty.  He  plead 
abjectly  for  mercy,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  a 
large  family  and  was  extremely  poor.  The  judge 
paid  no  attention  to  his  pleadings,  but  arose, 
gravely  and  severely  commented  upon  the  steal- 
ing that  was  going  on  in  Dalton,  which  must  be 
put  down.  He  elaborated  upon  the  heinous 
character  of  the  negro's  offense,  and  sentenced 
him  to  one  year  in  the  chain  gang.  The  severity 
of  the  strictures  passed  by  the  judge  upon  the 
petty  crime  of  this  poor  wretch  were  at  such 
variance  with  his  mildness  of  demeanor  in  regard 
to  a  brutal  and  inhuman  murder,  that  the  inci- 
dent placed  him  in  an  extremely  unenviable 
light. 

Finally  the  jury  in  the  Standing  case  returned 
into  court  with  a  verdict  of  "not  guilty."  The 


JOSEPH  STANDING.  75 

announcement  of  this  result  was  greeted  with  a 
demonstration  am;>ng  the  spectators,  favorable  to 
the  accused.  It  also  greatly  increased  the  popular 
feeling  against  Rudger. 

There  being  no  probability  of  obtaining  a  ver- 
dict against  either  of  the  other  accused  either  for 
murder  or  manslaughter,  Bradley  and  Blair 
were  each  tried  under  the  count  of  the  indict- 
ment charging  them  with  riot.  The  result  was 
the  same  as  in  the  first  Case — both  were  ac- 
quitted. 

The  current  of  popular  animous  against  Rud- 
ger, after  the  trials  were  concluded,  increased  in 
intensity,  and  considering  it  unsafe  to  remain 
any  longer  than  necessary,  he  resolved  to  leave 
for  home  as  soon  a  practicable.  This  determina- 
tion was  confirmed  on  the  evening  of  the  day  of 
the  last  trial.  A  gentleman  came  to  him  and 
said :  "I  hope  you  will  excuse  me,  Mr.  Clawson, 
being  an  entire  stranger,  for  addressing  you.  I 
am,  however,  desirous  for  your  safety.  A  scheme 
has  been  developed  to  have  you  arrested  on  a 
charge  of  perjury  and  placed  in  prison.  I  would 
advise  you  to  get  away  as  soon  as  possible." 

He  thanked  the  stranger.  He  was  up  and 
about  next  morning  bright  and  early,  and  with 
the  first  train  he  was  being  whirled  toward  his 


76  THE   MARTYRDOM    OF 

home  in  the  West,  where  he  arrived  in  safety  in 
a  few  days. 

Thus  ends  the  story  of  one  of  the  most  inhu- 
man and  inexcusable  murders  on  the  record  of 
the  State  of  Georgia.  The  character  of  the  deed 
could  scarcely  be  exceeded  in  point  of  cowardice, 
the  victim  being  unarmed,  defenseless  and  com- 
pletely in  the  power  of  his  assassins.  The  fact 
that  the  perpetrators  were  allowed  to  go  un- 
whipped  of  justice,  notwithstanding  that  their 
guilt  was  clearly  proved,  is  a  black  stain  upon 
the  escutcheon  of  the  State  in  which  the  tragedy 
occurred. 

Joseph  Standing  was  twenty-six  years  of  age, 
of  medium  height  and  somewhat  stout  build,  his 
weight  being  probably  one  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds.  His  hair  was  light  and  complexion  fair. 
He  was  noted  for  his  agreeable  manners,  which 
were  so  engaging  that  he  made  friends  every- 
where. He  had  fair  ability  as  a  public  speaker, 
and  was  an  indefatigable  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

At  the  time  his  life  was  taken  he  had  already 
served  sixteen  months  of  a  second  mission  to  the 
Southern  States,  and  had  been  for  some  time  in 
daily  expectation  of  being  notified  of  an  honor- 
able release  to  return  home.  He  had  been  in- 
dulging in  gleeful  anticipations  of  meeting  soon 


JOSEPH    STANDING.  77 

with  valued  friends  and  loved  ones,  but  these  were 
cruelly  cut  short  of  realization  by  the  bullet  of 
the  cowardly  assassin. 

In  Salt  Lake  cemetery  where  the  remains  ol 
the  young  martyr  were  interred,  there  stands 
over  the  tomb  a  handsome  monument,  of  Italian 
marble,  with  data  pertaining  to  the  tragedy  in- 
scribed upon  it.  These,  however,  are  all  elabor- 
ated in  this  sketch.  Upon  that  memento — which 
was  erected  by  subscriptions  of  members  of  the 
Young  Men's  Improvement  Associations  of  the 
Salt  Lake  Stake  of  Zion  and  others — appears  the 
following  lines  from  the  brilliant  pen  of  Orson 
F.  Whitney: 

Beneath  this  stone,  by  friendship's  hand,  is  lain 
The  martyred  form  of  one,  untimely  slain  ; 
A  Servant  of  the  Lord,  whose  works  revealed 
The  love  of  Truth  for  which  his  doom  was  sealed. 

Where  foes  beset — when  but  a  single  friend 
Stood  true,  nor  shunned  his  comrade's  cruel  end — 
Deep  in  the  shades  of  ill-starred  Georgia's  wood, 
Fair  freedom's  soil  was  crimsoned  with  his  blood. 

Our  brother  rests  beneath  his  native  sod, 
His  murderers  are  in  the  hands  of  God. 
Weep,  weep  for  them,  not  him  whose  silent  dust 
Here  waits  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 


APPENDIX. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Utah  Penitentiary,  Enclosure  and  Buildings. 

IWING  to  the  large  number  of  well  known, 
good  and  true  men  who  have  suffered,  are 
suffering  and  others  who  are  likely  to  suffer  incar- 
ceration in  the  Utah  Penitentiary,  for  conscience 
sake,  that  institution  has  a  peculiar  interest  to 
the  community  of  Latter-day  Saints.  Its  charac- 
ter may  also  be  a  matter  of  concern  to  other 
people  as  well.  In  future  times  it  will  doubtless 
occupy  a  more  or  less  conspicuous  niche  in  the 
history  of  this  Territory  and  of  the  Church.  On 
this  account  a  succint  description  of  the  prison 
is  appended,  together  with  a  concise  statement  in 
relation  to  the  brethren  who  have  been  confined 
there  up  to  date  of  publication — for  polygamy 
and  unlawful  cohabitation  under  the  cruel  and 
rigorous  regime  prescribed  by  the  Edmund's  law 
of  1882,  carried  out  and  applied  with  merciless 
rigor  by  those  in  whose  hands  its  administration 
has  rested. 


80  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

The  fact  that  one  of  the  chief  actors  in  the 
story  of  the  Georgia  tragedy  is  an  inmate  of  the 
penitentiary,  and  that  the  details  of  the  narrative 
were  there  obtained  from  him  by  the  author, 
are  additional  reasons  for  the  penning  of  this 
appendix,  as  a  fitting  and  probably  more  or  less 
useful  conclusion  to  this  volume. 

The  Utah  Penitentiary  occupies  a  somewhat 
elevated  site,  a  few  miles  south  by  east  of  Salt 
Lake  City.  It  fronts  westward,  and  along  that 
line  are  the  residence  and  office  of  the  Warden, 
the  culinary  department,  the  shops  and  stables. 
Those  are  all  ranged  along  the  exterior  of  the 
prison  proper,  the  entrance  to  which  is  on  the 
same  side. 

The  outer  aspect  of  the  place  is  of  small  inter- 
est compared  with  that  of  its  interior,  and  it  is, 
therefore,  only  the  latter  that  we  need  to  describe. 
Perhaps  this  can  best  be  done  by  taking  the 
reader  into  and  through  it  on  an  imaginary  visit. 

We  first  go  through  the  outer  gateway  into  a 
court  formed  on  the  west  by  the  entrance  through 
which  we  have  just  passed ;  on  the  north  by  the 
Warden's  house;  on  the  south  by  a  storehouse 
and  private  cell ;  and  on  the  east  by  the  wall  of 
the  enclosure  within  which  the  convicts  are  con- 
fined. In  that  part  of  the  wall  is  the  entrance, 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  81 

which  constitutes  the  only  opening  in  it.  Two 
large  heavy  gates  are  set  in  the  wall.  The  first 
is  constructed  of  stout  timbers,  which  cross  each 
other  diagonally.  The  second  is  the  heavier, 
also  of  wood,  but  built  solid.  When  the  turnkey 
lets  us  through  the  first,  which  is  not  more  than 
four  feet  from  the  other,  he  at  once  closes  it,  and 
we  remain  within  the  narrow  space  between 
until,  by  an  ingenious  attachment,  he  opens  the 
second.  We  then  step  within  the  enclosure  and 
the  ponderous  gate  closes  behind  us. 

We  are  then  in  a  large  open  yard,  one  acre  in 
extent.  It  is  not  exactly  square,  being  somewhat 
longer  from  east  to  west,  than  from  north  to 
south.  It  is  surrounded  by  an  unbroken  wall 
twenty  feet  in  height  and  four  feet  thick.  It  has 
a  foundation  of  sandstone,  the  rest  of  the  material 
being  adobies.  With  the  exception  of  the  tips  of 
some  of  the  highest  of  the  adjacent  mountains, 
which  can  be  seen  from  one  or  two  points  of  the 
yard,  it  effectively  shuts  out  the  surrounding 
scenery  from  the  view  of  the  hapless  inmate,  who 
thus  has  but  small  facility  for  relieving  the  eye, 
and  consequently  the  mind,  by  gazing  upon  the 
beauties  of  nature. 

Around  the  entire  extent  of  the  wall's  exterior 
is  a  platform,  the  floor  of  which  is  about  three 


82  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

feet  from  the  top.  Along  this  the  outside  guards 
on  duty  patrol — each  carrying  a  rifle — when 
they  are  not  in  the  turrets,  which  are  a  species 
of  sentry-box,  with  windows  so  placed  as  to 
enable  the  watcher  to  look  outward  to  every  point 
of  the  compass.  They  are  two  in  number,  one 
on  the  north-east  corner  and  the  other  on  the 
south-west  corner.  The  other  two  corners  are  so 
constructed  that  one  can  be  placed  on  each  when 
desirable.  Up  to  the  present  two  have  been 
deemed  sufficient. 

All  the  buildings  within  the  enclosure  are 
constructed  of  wood.  With  the  exception  of  the 
eating  room  and  bath  house,  they  are  built  of 
pine  planks — mostly  two  inches  thick  by  eight 
inches  wide.  The  walls  are  formed  by  laying 
those  boards  flat,  one  upon  the  other  and  fasten- 
ing them  together  with  large  iron  spikes,  the 
four  corners  being  jointed.  The  ceiling  is  made 
similarly,  the  edges  of  the  plank  forming  the 
surface.  The  floor  is  constructed  after  the  same 
pattern  as  the  ceiling,  the  entire  structure,  both 
on  the  exterior  and  on  the  inside,  having  a  de- 
cidedly ribby  aspect.  The  whole  is  covered  by 
an  ordinary  shingle  roof. 

Near  the  north-west  corner  stands  an  insig- 
nificant and  squatty  structure,  as  will  be  judged 


'UTAH  PENITENTIARY.  83 

by  its  interior  dimensions,  its  width  being  about 
ten  and  its  length  twelve  feet.  The  height  is 
proportionate.  Inside  is  a  strong  iron  cage, 
which  monopolizes  most  of  the  space,  as  it  is 
about  seven  feet  long  and  six  wide,  the  height 
being  probably  six  feet  six  inches.  This  sad- 
looking  edifice  is  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes. 
The  meagre  facilities  of  this  whole  institution 
renders  this  extensive  utilization  absolutely 
necessary.  Occasionally  it  does  duty  as  a  hos- 
pital for  the  sick,  the  number  of  patients  being 
necessarily  limited  to  one,  and  of  attendants  the 
same. 

It  has  occasionally  also  been  utilized  as  a  place 
of  solitary  confinement  for  refractory  convicts, 
who  have  gone  beyond  the  bounds  prescribed  by 
sules  of  the  prison. 

Another  capacity  in  which  it  has  figured  has 
been  that  of  an  insane  asylum  on  a  small  scale, 
that  being  the  place  where  the  notorious  Mike 
Sullivan  has  spent  a  good  many  lonely  hours,  in 
order  that  he  might  be  prevented  from  doing 
bodily  harm  to  his  fellow  convicts,  being  a  lunatic 
of  the  desperate  and  dangerous  type.  A  law 
passed  by  the  late  Legislature  provides  for  the 
placing  of  insane  convicts  in  the  Territorial 
Lunatic  Asylum,  so  that  the  prison  will  in 


84  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

future  be  happily  free  from  that  class  of  unfor- 
tunates. 

Near  the  other  corner — the  south-west — to  the 
right  of  the  entrance  to  the  yard,  is  another 
structure  of  the  same  character.  Indeed  it  is 
almost  the  counterpart  of  the  one  just  described, 
including  the  iron-cage  interior  attachment. 
That  is  the  cell  in  which  Fred.  Hopt,  the  oft- 
convicted  murderer  of  John  F.  Turner,  passes 
his  hours  of  solitary  confinement,  pending  the 
final  disposal  of  the  case  and  himself.  His  only 
relief  from  this  forbidding  loneliness  is  obtained 
by  him  when  he  paces  the  few  yards  of  open 
space  in  the  yard,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
his  lodging  house. 

Between,  and  a  short  distance  from  the  two 
structures  already  described,  are  two  others.  So  far 
as  their  appearance  is  concerned  they  are  totally 
unworthy  of  notice.  In  some  respects,  however, 
they  occupy  a  prominent  position  in  this  prison. 
The  use  to  which  they  are  put  renders  them 
objects  of  some  curiosity  to  people  who  might 
merely  visit  the  penitentiary,  while  to  some  of 
the  convicts  they  are  peculiarly  repulsive.  They 
are  each  about  five  feet  six  inches  long,  by  two 
feet  six  inches  wide,  inside  measurement,  and 
have  but  a  solitary  opening,  in  the  shape  of  a 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  85 

door  about  twenty  inches  wide  and  three  and  a 
half  feet  long.  These  pigmy  structures  are 
known  by  the  suggestive  title  of  "  sweat  boxes." 
This  was  perhaps  originally  designed  for  summer 
application,  or  maybe  they  were  erected  during 
the  heated  term,  and  the  first  inmates  very  likely 
were  incarcerated  while  the  thermometer  in  the 
ordinary  shade  was  in  the  nineties,  and  in  their 
interior  climbed  considerably  higher.  While 
there  is  a  striking  adaptability  about  the  title 
under  such  warm  conditions,  in  winter  they 
might,  with  equal  propriety,  be  denominated  the 
"refrigerators."  These  little  dens  are  used  as 
places  of  solitary  confinement  for  the  more  con- 
tumacious offenders  against  the  discipline  of  the 
prison.  The  victim  who  is  consigned  to  that 
species  of  punishment,  even  for  a  limited  period, 
is  greatly  to  be  pitied.  There  are  few  who  en- 
dure it  long,  being  generally  willing  to  come 
to  terms,  and  place  themselves  on  their  good 
behavior  on  short  notice. 

Facing  the  gate  in  a  line  are  the  two  most 
pretentious  buildings  of  the  interior.  They  are 
the  bunk-houses  or  cells,  where  the  prisoners  are 
locked  up  at  nights.  The  first  incorporates  bunk- 
houses,  Numbers  One  and  Two,  the  former  being 
the  first  reached  as  we  advance  eastward.  At- 


86  .  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

tached  to  its  front  is  a  small  room  used  as  a 
guard  house,  for  the  use  of  the  officers  on  duty 
inside  the  inclosure. 

The  dimensions  of  the  interior  are  :  thirty  feet 
long  by  twenty  feet  wide,  the  height  from  floor 
to  ceiling  being  twelve  feet.  The  visitor  is 
instantly  impressed  with  the  comfortless  appear- 
ance of  the  room,  and  the  rigid  economy  that 
has  been  used  in  the  utilization  of  a  limited 
space.  The  manner  in  which  the  sleeping  acom- 
modations  are  arranged  reminds  one  forcibly  of 
the  passenger  steerage  of  a  large  ship.  The 
sleeping  bunks  extend  entirely  around  three 
walls,  that  which  contains  the  entrance  being 
the  only  one  exempt  from  those  peculiar  sleepers. 
They  are  in  three  tiers,  being  one  over  another, 
the  space  between  being  about  three  feet.  Each 
bunk  is  six  feet  six  inches  long,  by  four  feet  six 
inches  wide,  and  parallel  with  the  wall  length- 
wise. The  number  of  bunks  in  Number  One  is 
thirty-two,  and  as  each  is  intended  for  two  in- 
mates, there  is  sleeping  accommodation  in  that 
particular  cell  for  sixty-four  convicts,  and  it  has 
been  of  late  generally  almost  if  not  quite  full. 

Around  the  room,  in  front  of  the  lower  tier  of 
bunks,  is  a  rough  board,  placed  on  uprights 
which  does  duty  as  a  seat. 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  87 

Inserted  in  the  upper  part  of  the  walls — almost 
close  up  to  the  ceiling — are  four  windows,  each 
about  two  feet  square.  These  windows  are  pro- 
tected on  the  outside  by  strong  iron  bars.  As 
they  are  set  back,  beyond  the  upper  bunks,  the 
light  from  them  is  necessarily  refracted,  and  is 
consequently  largely  diminished  by  the  time  it 
reaches  the  middle  of  the  room;  the  general 
aspect  is,  to  say  the  least,  somewhat  sombre. 
This  effect  suffers  no  diminution  by  the  hanging 
up  in  front  of  some  of  the  bunks,  upon  strings 
stretched  from  post  to  post,  of  various  articles  of 
underwear,  some  of  them  by  no  means  refresh- 
ingly new. 

Near  the  centre  of  the  ceiling  there  is  a  square 
aperture,  crossed  liberally  with  flat  iron  bars. 
This  contrivance,  connected  with  a  suitable  open- 
ing in  the  roof,  serves  the  purpose  of  a  ventilator, 
a  convenience  that,  it  is  scarcely  requisite  to 
state,  is  highly  necessary. 

There  is  but  one  entrance  to  the  cell — a  strong 
door  made  of  iron  bars,  crossing  each  other  at 
intervals  of  four  inches,  and  fastened  together 
with  rivets,  or,  considering  their  size,  they  might 
as  appropriately  be  called  bolts.  None  of  the 
men  convicted  of  polygamy  or  unlawful  cohabit- 
ation have  thus  far  been  confined  in  Number  One. 


00  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

Bunk  house  Number  Two  is  in  the  same 
building,  and  is  in  general  features  similar  to 
that  just  described.  It  is  considerably  smaller, 
however,  being  twenty  by  twenty  feet,  and  has 
only  two,  in  place  of  three,  tiers  of  bunks ;  con- 
sequently its  sleeping  accommodations  are  but 
one-half  that  of  the  other.  They  have  of  late 
been  fully  utilized.  Quite  a  sprinkling  of  the 
brethren  have  been  quartered  in  that  compart- 
ment for  some  time. 

Number  Three  is  detached  from  the  other 
bunk  houses,  being  situated  a  few  feet  further 
eastward.  It  is  a  recent  addition  to  the  premises, 
having  been  erected  in  the  summer  of  1885.  It 
is  similar  to  the  others.  It  is  twenty-six  feet 
long  and  twenty  feet  wide.  There  are,  as  in 
Number  One,  three  tiers  of  bunks,  of  which  there 
are  twenty-six,  the  room  thus  affording  sleeping 
conveniences  for  fifty-two  convicts.  There  are 
five  small  windows,  protected  by  iron  gratings, 
of  the  same  size  as  those  heretofore  described. 
Thus  far  the  sole  occupants — varying  from  forty 
to  fifty  in  number— have  been  men  convicted  of 
unlawful  cohabitation,  and  prisoners  who  are 
employed  in  various  capacities  on  the  outside 
of  the  penitentiary  proper.  They  are  called 
"trusties,"  the  title  being  derived  from  the  fact 


VTAH    PENITENTIARY.  89 

that  their  occupations  give  them  opportunities  to 
escape,  which  it  is  not  presumed  they  will  take 
advantage  of,  besides  their  being  necessarily 
trusted  in  other  respects. 

In  warm  weather  these  cells  are  infested  with 
vermin  in  the  shape  of  bed  bugs.  The  interstices 
between  the  planks  give  them  ample  breeding 
facilities,  which  they  do  not  hesitate  to  take 
advantage  of.  The  consequence  is,  that  they 
make  incursions  in  "  shoals  and  nations,"  sub- 
jecting the  hapless  convicts  to  annoyance  that 
falls  but  little,  if  anything,  short  of  torture. 
Different  remedies  have  been  employed  upon 
this  plague  of  the  prison,  but  thus  far  they  have 
only  mitigated  the  evil  without  approaching  its 
abatement. 

Before  giving  a  description  of  what  is,  some- 
what inaptly,  called  the  dining  hall,  it  may  be 
well  to  state  that  immediately  west  of  it  is  a 
small  guard  house,  used  as  a  sleeping  apartment 
by  the  guards  detailed  for  inside  duty.  The 
long,  low  building  in  which  the  eating  room  is 
situated,  runs  from  west  to  east,  parallel  with  the 
bunk  houses,  a  short  lane  or  street,  about  twenty- 
two  feet  wide,  being  thus  formed. 

The  word  dining-hall  is  generally  associated 
with  ideas  of  comfort,  with  concomitant  surround- 


90  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

ings  of  an  attractive  character.  This  is  why  the 
title,  as  applied  to  this  apartment,  may  be  justly 
considered  a  misnomer.  Its  conveniences  are,  to 
say  the  least,  of  a  most  primitive  description,  and 
even  at  that  are  the  reverse  of  profuse.  Two 
conditions  have  contributed  to  make  it  much 
less  repulsive  to  us  than  it  was  formerly.  The 
first  is  a  very  decided  improvement  made  some 
time  since  by  Mr.  G.N.  Dow,  the  Warden — a  very 
humane  gentleman  by  the  way — in  the  shape  of  a 
couple  of  large  skylights,  which  give  the  place  an 
air  of  comparative  cheerfulness  by  letting  in  the 
sunlight  of  heaven.  The  second  is  familiarity, 
which  soon  begins  to  dispel  the  more  gloomy 
aspect  of  the  surroundings  of  a  person  who 
philosophically  determines  to  "make  the  best 
of  a  bad  job." 

The  feeling  of  repulsion  with  which  we  were 
seized  on  our  first  entrance  to  the  room  is  vividly 
remembered.  The  pleasure  of  our  debut,  as  a 
partaker  of  the  frugal  repast  provided  by  "  Uncle 
Sam,"  was  not  increased  by  the  first  sounds  we 
heard  from  the  interior  of  the  dining  hall.  As 
Andrew  Smith  and  ourself  first  entered  the  prison, 
out  of  that  particular  room,  where  a  large  number 
of  convicts  were  crowded  together,  came  "  bow- 
wows," whoops,  shouts  and  yells  of  "hang  him." 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  91 

These  threatening  utterances  were  directed  against 
my  companion,  who,  in  his  capacity  of  police 
officer,  appeared  to  have  gained  the  ill-will  of 
some  of  the  rougher  prisoners. 

Inappropriate  as  it  may  be,  we  will  adhere 
to  the  title  by  which  the  room  is  known.  It  is 
fifty-four  feet  long  by  nineteen  wide.  The 
material  used  in  its  construction  is  simply  inch 
weather  boarding,  nailed  to  a  studding  frame, 
the  timbers  being  set  at  unusually  wide  distances 
apart.  The  height  to  the  square  is  about  seven 
feet  six  inches.  There  is  no  ceiling,  the  bare 
shingles  being  the  only  obstacle  between  the 
inmates  and  the  heavenly  expanse.  The  cross 
braces  by  which  the  frame  of  the  roof  is  stayed 
are  generally  adorned  with  shirts,  stockings,  and 
articles  of  underwear  generally,  making  the 
place  smack  somewhat  of "  Rag  Fair,"  London. 
Occasionally  from  the  same  raised  position  a  couple 
of  "exalted  soles  " — hob-nailed  attachments  to  a 
dilapidated  pair  of  boots — look  grimly  down  from 
whence  they  are  suspended. 

No  part  of  the  interior  is  plastered,  there  being 
but  an  inch  board  to  the  weather.  Here  and 
there  the  thin  walls  are  plastered  over  with 
gaudy  pictures  clipped  from  periodicals  of  the 
day,  according  to  the  taste  or  fancy  of  the  convict 


92  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

whose  seat  happens  to  be  near  the  particular  spot 
thus  decorated.  For  convenience'  sake,  little 
narrow  shelves  have  heen  nailed  to  the  wall,  and 
on  these  are  old  fruit  cans,  the  tin  pint  cup  with 
which  each  convict  is  furnished,  and  other 
articles. 

Against  the  wall,  and  skirting  the  entire  room, 
at  the  height  of  an  ordinary  table,  is  a  rough 
deal  board,  two  feet  wide.  This  serves  for  a  table. 
Each  convict  fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  place 
at  this  board  is  allotted  a  space  of  twenty-two 
inches  in  width,  giving  barely  enough  elbow 
room  at  meal  times.  The  seating  convenience 
at  this  table  consists  of  a  rough  plank,  two  inches 
thick  and  eight  inches  wide,  supported,  a  short 
distance  outward  from  the  side-table,  upon  up- 
rights consisting  of  pieces  of  the  same  material. 
The  seating  space  allotted  to  each  is  of  the  same 
length  as  and  parallel  with  the  tabular  appor- 
tionment. 

As  over  one  hundred  men  sit  down  at  each 
meal,  the  room  is,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  at  such 
times  always  crowded.  Consequently  the  side- 
tables  are  far  from  being  sufficient,  and  there  are 
four  or  five  large  tables  besides,  ranged  down  the 
centre  of  the  room.  But  they  are  not  so  popular 
with  the  convicts  as  the  seats  along  the  wall, 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  93 

owing  to  the  latter  perhaps  being  slightly  more 
retired,  if  such  a  term  could  be  appropriately 
used  in  connection  with  so  great  a  crowd. 

Besides  the  two  sky-lights  lately  added,  the 
room  is  lighted  by  means  of  nine  windows,  each 
of  which  has  nine  squares  of  glass,  measuring 
eight  by  ten  inches. 

Upon  the  east  end  of  the  dining  hall,  being  a 
continuation  of  the  same  building,  are  the  bath- 
room and  wash-house,  where  the  convicts  are 
required  to  perform  their  ablutions.  Thesa 
apartments  are  among  the  most  convenient  and 
attractive  of  any  in  the  prison,  being  neatly 
painted.  They  are  kept  in  a  condition  of 
scrupulous  cleanliness  by  Robert  Taylor,  familiar- 
ly called  "  Bob,"  the  man  in  charge. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Officers.— Prison  Fare.— Discipline.' 

E  officers  of  the  prison  consist  of  the 
Warden,  Turnkey,  and  eight  Guards. 
The  will  of  the  first  named  official  is  supreme 
under  the  law  and  the  United  States  Marshal, 


94  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

the  supervisory  oversight  of  the  penitentiary 
devolving  upon  the  latter. 

The  duty  of  the  Turnkey  is  to  have  personal 
supervision  of  the  ingress  to  and  egress  from  the 
prison  of  all  persons,  and  to  look  after  other 
matters  unnecessary  to  notice  in  this  description. 
Being  the  next  official  in  rank  to  the  Warden, 
he  usually  has  entire  charge  whenever  that 
officer  happens  to  be  absent.  In  case  of  the 
absence  of  the  Turnkey  one  of  the  guards  is  de- 
tailed to  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  office. 

The  labors  of  the  guards  are  so  arranged  that 
each  one  is  alternately  six  hours  on  and  off  duty. 
Two  are  constantly,  night  and  day,  on  the  walls, 
being  stationed  in  the  sentry-boxes  or  turrets,  or 
patroling  to  and  fro  upon  the  platform,  rifle  in 
hand.  Their  position  enables  them  to  have  a 
full  view  of  the  yard,  so  that,  in  case  of  a  violent 
outbreak  or  attempted  escape,  they  can,  in  an 
emergency,  fire  upon  the  offenders. 

Two  are  always  in  the  yard  to  attend  to  all  mat- 
ters within  the  prison  proper.  Formerly  those 
detailed  for  interior  duty  carried  fire-arms ;  this 
practice  has  been  discontinued,  as  it  was  dis- 
covered to  be  attended  by  no  small  degree  of 
danger.  Several  plots,  which  were  nipped  in  the 
bud,  were  found  to  include  an  intention  to  disarm 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  95 

the  guards,  who  would,  in  case  the  schemes  had 
carried,  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  the  conspiring 
convicts. 

One  or  other  of  the  officers  on  duty  in  the 
interior  are  required  to  make  the  round  of  the 
yard  every  fifteen  minutes  during  the  night, 
to  see  that  all  is  right  and  everything  secure. 
To  neglect  this  duty  renders  the  offender  liable 
to  discharge.  It  is  next  to  impossible  for  it 
to  be  shirked  or  even  omitted,  from  any  cause, 
without  its  being  detected.  In  the  guard-room 
there  is  a  "  regulator "  with  a  dial  face.  The 
guard  on  duty  must  touch  a  point  of  this 
contrivance  with  his  finger  every  fifteen  min- 
utes. By  this  means  a  paper  ribbon  in  the 
interior  of  the  "  regulator"  is  pricked.  There  is 
a  similar  instrument  in  each  of  the  turrets,  so 
that  the  guards  on  the  wall  are  subject  to  the 
same  mechanical  surveillance.  Each  man  is, 
therefore,  under  the  necessity  of  being  sleeplessly 
at  his  post.  The  regulators  are  examined  every 
morning  by  the  Warden. 

The  safety  of  the  prison  is  further  maintained  by 
rendering  any  further  dereliction  otherwise  dis- 
coverable by  the  guards,  those  inside  and  those 
upon  the  wall  being  checks  on  each  other.  When 
the  man  in  the  interior  first  starts  out  upon  each  of 


06  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

his  frequent  night  patrols,  he  signals  with  his 
lantern  to  both  of  those  upon  the  wall,  and  they 
respond  to  him  by  elevating  two  lamps  suspended 
by  wires  from  the  turrets  down  the  wall  to  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  ground.  It  is  a  part  of  the  duty 
of  each  guard  to  report  any  serious  instance  of 
neglect  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  others. 

For  almost  every  species  of  general  operation 
in  the  yard,  signals  are  given  by  the  ringing  of 
bells  by  the  guard  stationed  on  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  wall. 

From  a  quarter  past  five  to  half-past  six  in  the 
evening,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year, 
earlier  in  winter  and  later  in  summer,  three  bells 
are  rung  for  the  convicts  to  prepare  to  enter  the 
bunk  houses.  Those  belonging  to  Number  One 
are  attended  to  first.  They  form  in  line,  from 
the  door  outward,  and  as  soon  as  the  wrord  is 
given  they  pass  in,  one  at  a  time,  and  are  counted 
by  the  guards  as  they  enter,  to  make  sure  that 
none  are  missing.  Then  Number  Two  and  Three 
follow  in  respective  order. 

As  soon  as  the  prisoners  are  within,  the  heavy 
iron  door  is  closed  and  the  ponderous  bars  are 
adjusted. 

The  convicts  spend  the  time  intervening  be- 
tween the  locking-up  hour  and  the  hour  for 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  97 

retiring  as  best  they  may.  It  is  not  the  intention 
to  give,  in  these  details,  a  pen-picture  of  the 
generality  of  these  evening  proceedings.  We 
will  probably  do  so  on  a  future  occasion. 

The  "  trusties,"  to  the  number  of  fourteen,  who 
are  lodged  in  Number  Three,  to  which  we  be- 
longed, are  admitted  subsequent  to  the  locking-up 
of  the  ordinary  convicts,  as  their  labors  continue 
for  some  time  after  the  regular  hour  for  entering 
the  cells. 

Precisely  at  nine  o'clock  the  guard  appears  at 
the  door,  upon  which  he  delivers  a  number  of 
raps,  to  attract  attention.  He  then  gives  the 
word  for  all  to  "  turn  in."  According  to  the  rule 
all  conversation  must  cease,  and  the  prisoners 
retire  for  the  night. 

At  a  quarter  past  five  in  the  morning  those 
trusties  employed  in  the  cooking  department  are 
awakened  by  the  guard,  and  fifteen  minutes  after- 
ward they  are  allowed  to  pass  out  to  begin  the 
labors  of  the  day.  Shortly  before  seven  the 
clanking  of  the  bars  and  the  grating  sound  of 
the  iron  door  as  it  swings  open  are  again  heard. 
All  are  then  required  to  arise,  dress,  make  up 
their  beds,  and  go  out  to  the  wash-house,  and 
perform  their  morning  ablutions. 

The  floor  of  each  bunk  house  is  swept  every 


98  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

morning,  each  man  taking  his  turn  in  the  per- 
formance of  this  duty.  It  is  carefully  scrubbed 
twice  a  week,  five  men  being  detailed  for  that 
purpose,  alternating  so  that  the  work  is  equally 
divided  among  the  prisoners. 

In  dry  weather  five  men  are  appointed  daily 
to  perform  police  duty  in  the  yard,  which  is 
simply  to  clean  up  and  keep  the  premises  in 
order. 

Eight  men  are  detailed  to  act  as  waiters.  They 
have  the  general  oversight  of  the  dining  hall, 
keeping  it  clean,  serving  meals,  etc. 

At  eight  o'clock  each  morning  one  bell  is  rung. 
This  is  the  signal  for  the  waiters  to  go  to  the  gate 
and  bring  in  the  food ;  also  for  convicts  to  place 
their  tin  pint  cups  to  receive  their  ration  of 
coffee,  on  their  allotted  places  at  the  tables.  All 
are  then  required  to  clear  out  of  the  room. 

The  morning  meal  consists  of  coffee  without 
sugar  or  milk,  bread,  meat,  and  a  couple  of 
melancholy  potatoes  to  each  man.  The  sadness 
of  the  tubers  is  caused  by  their  being  cooked  the 
night  previous.  Every  other  day  the  meat 
portion  of  the  programme  is  omitted,  being  sub- 
stituted by  a  mysterious  compound  called  hash. 
The  meat  and  coffee  are  brought  to  the  dining 
hall  in  huge  vessels  made  of  galvanized  iron, 


UTAH  PENITENTIARY.  99 

and  the  bread,  cut  in  slices,  in  ordinary  brown 
wicker  bushel  baskets.  The  only  table  utensils 
given  for  the  use  of  the  convicts  are  a  tin  pint 
cup,  an  iron  spoon,  and  a  common  tin  plate  to 
each.  Knives  and  forks  are  not  allowed,  owing 
to  the  danger  of  having  such  utensils  around 
the  place. 

For  dinner,  which  is  served  between  twelve 
and  one  o'clock,  bread,  meat  and  potatoes  com- 
pose the  bill  of  fare  one  day,  followed  every 
alternate  day  by  an  unsubstantial  article  of  soup, 
to  which  a  couple  of  slices  of  bread  constitute 
the  solitary  accompaniment. 

The  evening  meal,  which  is  disposed  of  shortly 
before  five  o'clock,  is  "  without .  shadow  of  turn- 
ing," its  components  being  bread  and  a  tin  cup- 
ful of  sugarless  and  milkless  tea. 

The  manner  of  entering  the  dining  hall  for 
meals  is  worth  noting.  At  a  given  signal  the 
convicts  form  into  two  lines,  extending  eastward 
from  the  door,  where  the  guard  stands  for  the 
purpose  of  enforcing  order.  The  signal  is  then 
given  to  file  in,  and  the  prisoners  enter  two 
abreast,  and  take  their  places  at  the  tables. 

Each  prisoner  must  perform  complete  bodily 
ablutions,  by  means  of  the  bath,  once  a  week  in 
summer,  and  once  in  two  weeks  in  winter. 


100  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

The  convicts  generally  wash  their  own  clothing 
in  the  yard.  A  few,  however,  send  their  washing 
to  town,  the  packages  being  searched  both  in 
going  and  returning,  to  prevent  breaches  of  the 
rules  in  relation  to  correspondence  with  persons 
on  the  outside,  etc. 

The  hair  of  each  convict  is  clipped  close  to  the 
scalp  once  a  month,  and  the  face  is  shaved  clean 
once  a  week. 

All  correspondence,  outgoing  and  incoming, 
is  examined  by  the  Warden.  If,  in  his  judgment, 
any  communication  contains  aught  objectionable, 
it  is  not  permitted  to  go  out.  Letters,  books,  and 
periodicals,  excepting  local  newspapers,  can  be 
received  at  any  time  The  latter  are  not  admitted 
to  the  prison.  Ordinarily  convicts  are  permitted 
to  write  to  friends  on  the  outside  twice  a  month, 
but  oftener,  by  special  permission,  should  some 
unusual  emergency  demand. 

The  friends  of  convicts  are  allowed  to  see  them 
— providing  they  first  obtain  a  pass  from  the 
U/  S.  Marshal— on  the  first  Thursday  of  each 
month.  Those  having  passes  are  not  allowed  to 
enter  the  prison  proper,  but  are  conducted  to  an 
apartment  used  as  a  dining  room  by  the  guards. 
The  officer  on  the  west  wall,  after  the  bell  has 
been  rung  once,  calls  out  the  name  of  the  convict 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  101 

on  the  permit.  The  visited  prisoner  is  let  out 
at  the  gate,  and  goes  to  the  room  where  the 
visitors  are  in  waiting.  He  sits  on  one  side  of  a 
long  table  and  they  on  the  other,  and  the  con- 
versation must  be  conducted  in  a  tone  sufficiently 
loud  to  be  heard  by  a  guard,  who  is  stationed  at 
the  end  of  the  table  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
that  no  objectionable  communication  passes  be- 
tween the  parties.  The  interview  terminates  at 
the  end  of  thirty  minutes,  when  the  convict  re- 
enters  the  yard,  and  the  visitors  take  their  leave. 

Visitors  are  frequently  allowed  to  stand  upon 
the  platform  which  runs  parallel  with  the 
outside  of  the  wall,  and  from  that  elevated 
position  obtain  a  view  of  the  yard  and  buildings. 
They  are  not  permitted,  however,  to  give  any 
sign  of  recognition  to  the  prisoners.  Neither  are 
the  latter  allowed  to  recognize  their  friends,  but 
the  parties  may  gaze  at  each  other.  The  position 
is  frequently,  to  say  the  least,  exceedingly  painful 
on  both  sides. 

Religious  services  are  held  every  Sunday  after- 
noon. They  are  conducted  by  the  clergymen  of 
the  different  sects — excepting  those  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church — alternately,  the  Episcopalians 
officiating  twice  during  the  particular  months  in 
which  there  happens  to  be  five  Sabbath  days. 


102  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

The  turn  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  comes  on  the 
first  Sunday  of  each  month. 

Three  bells  are  always  a  signal  to  the  prisoners. 
When  that  is  heard  they  are  on  the  alert  to  hear 
some  general  order,  which  is  occasionally  for  all 
to  go  up  to  the  north-east  corner  of  the  yard. 
This  signifies  that  some  official  or  other  more  or 
less  distinguished  visitor  is  about  to  enter. 

A  wire  is  stretched  from  north  to  south,  about 

+ 

twelve  paces  east  of  the  west  wall.  It  is  called 
the  "dead  line."  A  prisoner  is  not  allowed  to 
cross  ^t  to  the  westward  except  for  special  pur- 
poses. Before  he  does  so  he  must  signal  the 
guard  on  the  wall  by  raising  one  hand.  If  he 
receives  the  usual  response  he  can  proceed.  If 
not,  he  is  not  permitted  to  cross,  or  does  so  at  his 
peril. 

Each  convict  is  clothed  in  the  usual  zebraic 
costume  common  in  United  States  prisons 
generally. 

More  minute  details,  involving  the  whole  of 
the  discipline,  might  be  given,  but  it  appears  to 
be  unnecessary. 

Breaches  of  the  rules  are  punishable  in  various 
ways.  The  penalties  are  to  some  degree  defined  by 
statute,  but  in  a  general  way  they  are  within  the 
discretion  of  the  Warden,  under  the  U.  S.  Marshal. 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  103 


%  CHAPTER  III. 

Those  who  have  been  Incarcerated  for  conscience'  sake.— 
Their  Offenses,  Pleas,  and  Penalties.— Brief  Biographical 
Notes  and  Personal  References. 

|UDGER  CLAWSON;  plea,  not  guilty; 
sentenced  November  3rd,  1884,  by  Judge 
Zane,  on  conviction  for  polygamy,  to  imprison- 
ment for  three  years  and  six  months  and  to  pay 
a  fine  of  $500 ;  unlawful  cohabitation,  six  months 
and  $300,  being  four  years  and  $800  in  all.  The 
case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Territory,  which  sustained  the  judgment  of  the 
lower  court.  He  was  born  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
March  12th,  1857,  and  has  been  in  the  Church 
from  childhood,  his  parents  being  connected  with 
it  at  the  time  of  his  birth. 

JOSEPH  H.  EVANS  ;  plea,  not  guilty ;  polygamy 
and  unlawful  cohabitation ;  sentenced,  by  Judge 
Zane,  November  8th,  1884;  three  years  and  six 
months,  and  a  fine  of  $500.  He  was  born  at 
Llanelly,  Carmarthenshire,  Wales,  August  12th, 
1820;  joined  the  Church  in  July,  1850,  and  came 
to  Utah  in  1854.  His  height  is  about  five  feet 
nine  inches.  He  is  of  portly  build,  and  has  a 


104  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

Celtic  face.  He  is  outspoken,  almost  to  bluntness, 
and  possesses  a  large  degree  of  religious  zeal. 
He  is  a  blacksmith  and  has  resided  in  Salt  Lake 
City  nearly  the  whole  time  he  has  been  in  Utah. 

PARLEY  P.  PRATT;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  guilty;  sentenced  by  Judge  Zane,  May  2nd, 
1885;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300.  He  was  born 
at  Kirtland,  Ohio,  March  25th,  1837,  and  is  the 
eldest  son  of  the  late  Apostle  Parley  P.  Pratt. 
Ho  has  been  with  the  Church  from  his  birth  to 
the  present,  and  in  his  childhood  passed  through 
the  stirring  scenes  of  its  early  history.  He  came 
to  Utah  in  1848,  and  has  been  on  several  missions 
abroad.  He  has  brown  hair  and  a  medium 
complexion.  His  head  is  small,  and  face  and 
features  round.  His  height  is  six  feet,  and  build 
slender. 

ANGUS  M.  CANNON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  May  9th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  The  case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Territory,  and  taken  on  a  writ  of 
error  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  U.  S.,  both  of 
which  tribunals  sustained  the  lower  courts. 
Pending  the  final  adjudication  by  the  U.  S. 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  105 

Supreme  Court  the  defendant  remained  in  jail 
about  two  months  over  the  term  of  sentence,  the 
chief  object  being  to  obtain  an  authoritative 
definition  of  the  legal  scope  of  the  term  "  unlaw- 
ful cohabitation."  On  Monday,  May  10th,  1880, 
three  cases  of  unlawful  cohabitation  against 
Lorenzo  Snow  were  disposed  of  by  the  U.  S. 
Supreme  Court,  to  which  they  had  been  appealed. 
The  court  decided  it  had  no  jurisdiction.  To 
show  consistency  it  reconsidered  its  mandate  in 
Brother  Cannon's  appeal  and  dismissed  that  case 
also.  The  court  could  not  well  continue  the 
position  of  having  jurisdiction  in  the  one  case 
and  not  in  the  others,  all  of  them  being  of  the  same 
class.  Brother  Cannon  was  born  in  Liverpool, 
England,  May  17th,  1834.  His  parents  having 
joined  the  Church  under  the  administration  of 
President  John  Taylor  in  1840,  the  family  left 
England  for  Nauvoo  in  1842.  His'  mother  died 
during  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  Brother 
Angus  was  baptized  in  the  Mississippi  River, 
near  Nauvoo,  in  the  fall  of  1844.  He  was  driven 
out  of  that  place  with  the  body  of  the  Saints. 
After  enduring  many  hardships,  he  came  to  Utah 
in  1849.  He  was  engaged  in  various  occupations, 
and  spent  some  time  in  founding  settlements 
and  building  up  southern  Utah.  In  1852  he 


106  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

engaged  in  the  printing  business,  in  the  Deseret 
News  office,  and  in  1854  went  on  a  mission  to  the 
Eastern  States  with  Apostle  John  Taylor,  re- 
turning home  in  1858.  He  went  to  the  Utah 
"  Dixie,"  and  with  Erastus  Snow  and  Jacob  Gates 
located  the  city  of  St.  George,  of  which  he  was 
Mayor  for  four  years.  He  came  back  to  Salt 
Lake,  and  in  1868  entered  the  Deseret  News  office 
as  its  business  manager,  a  position  he  occupied 
six  years,  afterwards  engaging  in  the  business  of 
dealing  in  wagons  and  machinery.  In  the  spring 
of  1876  he  was  appointed  President  of  Salt  Lake 
Stake,  his  present  ecclesiastical  position.  He  was 
Recorder  for  Salt  Lake  County  a  number  of 
years.  He  is  over  medium  height  and  propor- 
tionate build ;  complexion  dark.  His  face  is 
round  and  somewhat  full. 

AMOS  MILTON  MUSSER  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  May  9th,  1885  ; 
term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  Appealed 
to  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court,  which  sus- 
tained the  judgment  of  the  court  below.  He  was 
born  in  Donegal  Township,  Lancaster  County, 
Pa.  His  father  died  when  he  was  little  more 
than  an  infant,  and  a  few  years  afterwards  his 
mother  and  eldest  sister  joined  the  Church.  The 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  107 

family  removed  to  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  in  1846,  and 
were,  the  same  year,  driven  out  by  mob  violence 
at  the  time  of  the  general  expulsion  of  the  Saints. 
Brother  Musser  joined  the  Church,  by  baptism, 
in  1851,  in  Iowa,  and  came  to  Utah  the  same 
year.  He  was  sent  on  a  mission  in  1852  to 
Hindostan,  East  Indies,  and  was  absent  five 
years.  While  so  engaged  he  learned  to  speak 
the  Hindostanee  language  with  a  fair  degree  of 
fluency,  and  to  read  and  write  it  readily  in  the 
Arabic  characters.  He  was  employed  for  nineteen 
years  under  Presidents  B.  Young,  D.  H.  Wells, 
Geo.  A.  Smith,  and  Bishop  Hunter,  as  a  Traveling 
Bishop  and  Agent.  He  filled  a  brief  mission  to 
the  States  in  1876. 

JAMES  C.  WATSON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  guilty;  sentenced  May  9th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300.  He 
was  born  at  Newart  Hill,  Lanarkshire,  Scotland, 
September  4th,  1844,  his  father  being  then  in  the 
Church.  His  mother  was  not  then  a  member, 
and  insisted  that  James  should  be  christened  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  She  accordingly  took 
him  there  and  that  ordinance  was  attended  to. 
On  her  way  home  she  declared  that  the  Lord 
gave  her  a  testimony  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel 


108  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

as  revealed  through  Joseph  Smith,  and  she  was 
consequently  baptized  a  short  time  afterwards. 
James  was  baptized  when  eight  years  old,  and 
came  with  the  family  to  America  in  1848;  re- 
mained in  St.  Louis  till  1850,  when  he  came  to 
Salt  Lake  City,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since. 
He  is  large  and  portly,  being  in  height  five  feet 
eleven  inches,  and  turns  the  scale  at  two  hundred 
and  thirty  pounds.  He  has  fair  complexion  and 
blue  eyes,  and  is  noted  for  the  hearty  cordiality 
of  his  manners,  being  the  embodiment  of  good 
nature. 

WILLIAM  FOTHEKINGHAM  ;  unlawful  cohabita- 
tion ;  plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  May  20th, 
1885,  by  Judge  Boreman ;  term,  three  months ; 
fine,  $300.  He  was  born  at  Clackmannan,  Clack- 
mannanshire,  Scotland,  April  oth,  1826;  joined 
the  Church  in  1847 ;  came  to  America  in  1848, 
and  stayed  in  the  States  till  1850,  when  he  came 
to  Utah.  Performed  a  mission  to  the  East  Indies 
and  another  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  South 
Africa.  He  is  the  senior  member  of  the  High 
Council  of  Beaver  Stake,  Agent  for  the  Presiding 
Bishop,  and  has  been  Superintendent  of  Sunday 
Schools  in  that  part  of  the  Territory  from  the 
beginning  of  their  organization.  He  was  Clerk 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  109 

of  Beaver  County  seventeen  years;  Mayor  of 
Beaver  City  two  years ;  Justice  of  the  Peace  four 
years;  and  has  represented  the  counties  of  Beaver, 
Iron  and  Piute,  in  the  Council  of  the  Territorial 
Legislature.  When  the  "move"  south  occurred 
in  anticipation  of  the  entry  of  Albert  Sidney 
Johnston's  army,  Elder  Fotheringham  was  one  of 
a  number  of  men  detailed  to  lay  Salt  Lake  City 
in  ashes,  should  such  a  recourse  be  deemed 
necessary. 

FRANCIS  A.  BROWN  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  July  llth,  1885,  by 
Judge  Powers;  term, six  months;  fine,  $300.  The 
defendant  made  a  speech  in  court  in  which  he 
asserted  that  he  would  rather  have  his  head 
severed  from  his  body  than  prove  recreant  to  his 
religious  obligations,  which,  he  held,  were  in- 
volved in  the  case.  He  was  born  in  New  York 
State,  November  14th,  1822.  He  joined  the 
Church  and  went  to  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  in  1844, 
and  came  to  Utah  in  1856.  He  settled  in  Ogden, 
of  which  town  he  has  been  a  resident  ever  since. 
He  is  a  little  over  medium  height,  has  a  strong, 
honest  face,  characteristic  of  his  nature,  which  is 
ruggedly  resolute.  He  performed  a  mission  to 
Holland. 


110  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

MORONI  BROWN;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  not  guilty;  sentenced  July  llth,  1885,  by 
Judge  Powers;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300.  He 
stated  in  court  that  he  did  not  propose  to  renounce 
his  religious  principles  to  conform  to  any  law.  He 
was  born  in  Adam's  County,  Illinois,  September 
25th,  1840,  his  parents  being  then  connected  with 
the  Church;  shortly  afterwards  the  family  re- 
moved to  Nauvoo ;  were  driven  out  at  the  time  of 
the  expulsion,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1851.  His 
father  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land,  including 
the  site  on  which  Ogden  now  stands,  from  the 
original  settler,  he  being  the  founder  of  that  city. 
Moroni  is  over  the  over  the  average  height, 
heavily  built ;  his  hair  and  complexion  are  dark. 
He  filled  a  mission  to  Europe. 

JOB  PINGREE  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
not  guilty ;  sentenced  July  13th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Powers ;  term,  five  months  ;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
His  case  was  one  in  which  the  court  exhibited 
the  most  heartless  cruelty,  combined  with  cant- 
ing hypocrisy,  as  the  author  proposes,  at  some 
future  time,  to  show.  He  was  born  in  Gloucester- 
shire, England,  November  21st,  1837;  came  to 
Utah  in  1857,  and  settled  in  Ogden,  where  he 
has  resided  ever  since.  He  is  tall,  slender,  and 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  Ill 

active.  His  head  and  features  are  small,  and 
complexion  medium.  He  is  intensely  practical, 
and  has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  public 
affairs  of  the  community  among  whom  he  lives. 

JOHN  LANG  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty;  sentenced  September  29th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Boreman ;  term,  three  months ;  fine,  $200.  He 
was  born  in  Devonshire,  England,  March  loth, 
1831.  He  joined  the  Church  by  baptism  in  1840, 
and  came  to  Utah  in  1855.  He  is  a  farmer,  and 
resided  in  Salt  Lake  City  six  years ;  spent  ten 
years  on  the  southern  frontier,  and  finally  settled 
in  Beaver  — his  present  place  of  residence — in 
1871.  He  is  a  man  of  exceptional  simplicity  and 
honesty  of  character. 

H.  B.  CLAWSON,  Bishop  of  the  Twelfth  Ward, 
Salt  Lake  City ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty ;  sentenced  September  29th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
He  was  born  in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  November  7th,  1826; 
was  baptized  in  childhood,  and  removed  in  early 
times  to  Nauvoo,  with  his  mother  and  other 
relatives.  Was  driven  from  that  place  at  the 
time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Saints,  and  came  to 
Utah  in  1848. 


112  UTAH  PENITENTIARY. 

EDWARD  BRAIN  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  October  2nd,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Wick,  Gloucestershire, 
England,  August  15th,  1821,  and  joined  the 
Church  in  August,  1844,  at  Bath.  He  came  to 
Utah  in  1852.  He  is  a  builder  by  trade. 

CHARLES  SEAL  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  bom  at  Qounton,  Gloucester- 
shire, England,  January  18th,  1834 ;  joined  the 
Church  in  the  winter  of  1844,  and  came  to  Utah 
in  1871. 

CHARLES  L.  WHITE;  unlawful  cohabitation; 
plea  of  guilty ;  sentenced  October  6th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  The  plea  of  guilty  was  made  by  arrange- 
ment with  the  Prosecuting  Attorney  upon  an 
agreement  that  a  charge  of  polygamy  be  with- 
drawn. His  plural  wife,  Elizabeth  Ann  Starkey, 
had  been  imprisoned  in  the  penitentiary  two 
months  and  twenty-one  days  for  refusing  to 
answer  certain  questions  propounded  by  Com- 
missioner McKay,  examining  magistrate,  and  the 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  113 

grand  jury ;  the  understanding  with  the  prosecu- 
tion alluded  to  resulting  in  her  release.  C.  L. 
White  was  bom  at  Forest  Green,  Gloucestershire, 
England,  June  26th,  1857.  He  was  baptized  at 
the  age  of  eight  years,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1874. 
He  is  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  follows 
the  trade  of  brush-maker. 

JOHN  CONNELLY;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  guilty ;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
He  was  born  (of  Irish  parents)  at  Berwick-on- 
Tweed,  Scotland,  February  12th,  1853.  He  joined 
the  Church  in  1870,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1871. 

DAVID  E.  DAVIS  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  not  guilty;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Rhymney,  Monmouth- 
shire, England,  September,  1841;  joined  the 
Church  May  30th,  1865;  came  to  Utah  Nov- 
ember 16th,  1863.  He  is  a  resident  of  Tooele 
County,  and  is  a  farmer,  stockraiser,  and  telegraph 
operator,  having  been  in  the  employ  of  the 
Western  Union  Company  several  years  in  the 
latter  capacity.  He  is  short  of  stature,  round 
faced,  and  has  dark  eyes  and  hair. 


114  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

ISAAC  GROO  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
He  was  born  in  Sullivan  County,  N.  Y.,  April 
8th,  1827 ;  joined  the  Church  January  1st,  1852, 
and  came  to  Utah  in  1854.  He  has  occupied  a 
number  of  official  positions  connected  with  the 
municipality  of  Salt  Lake  City — notably  Super- 
visor of  Streets,  agent  for  the  cit}^,  Alderman 
and  Councilor.  He  was  also  Bishop's  Counselor 
in  the  Ninth  Ward  from  1856  to  1877,  having 
occupied  that  relation  to  three  different  Bishops 
— Seth  Taft,  John  Woolley  and  Samuel  A. 
Woolley.  His  hair,  eyes,  and  complexion  are 
dark,  his  height  five  feet  ten  inches,  and  his 
build  proportionate.  He  is  a  man  of  much  over 
the  average  intelligence,  and  has  read  exten- 
sively. 

ALFRED  BEST;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea  of 
guilty;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by  Judge 
Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs, 
He  was  born  in  Toddington,  Gloucestershire. 
England,  June  19th,  1829 ;  joined  the  Church  in 
Birmingham,  in  1849;  came  to  Utah  in  1851. 
He  is  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake  City.  He  is  short 
of  stature  and  spare  build.  His  eyes  and  com- 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  115 

plexion  are  dark,  and  his  constitution  by  no 
means  robust.  He  is  a  tinner  by  trade,  but  re- 
tired from  that  business  several  years  ago. 

ANDREW  W.  COOLEY;  unlawful  cohabitation; 
plea  of  guilty ;  sentenced  October  5th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Bruce,  McComb  County, 
Michigan,  May  24th,  1837,  and  in  1863  came  to 
Utah,  where  he  joined  the  Church  in  1864.  He 
is  a  large  framed  man,  with  medium  complexion 
and  blue  eyes.  He  was  Bishop  of  Brighton  Ward 
from  1865  to  1871,  when  he  resigned. 

WILLIAM  A.  ROSSITER  ;  .unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  October  10th,  1885, 
by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months  and  $300  and 
costs.  A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  case  was  the 
flimsy  character  of  the  evidence  produced  by 
the  prosecutor.  Speaking  of  this  feature  of  it, 
a  prominent  lawyer  remarked  that  he  saw  no  use 
of  a  "Mormon"  making  any  legal  fight;  he  being 
convinced  that  to  accuse  was  to  convict.  W.  A. 
Rossiter  was  born  in  London,  England,  February 
26th,  1843  ;  joined  the  Church,  at  Barnsley,  in 
1860,  and  started  for  Utah  in  1862.  A  thrilling 
incident  in  his  experience  occurred  at  Florence, 


116  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

Wyoming,  the  point  of  outfitting  for  crossing  the 
plains.  He  worked  for  the  Church  there,  con- 
veying the  emigrants  and  their  luggage  from  the 
landing  on  the  Missouri  river  to  the  camp,  a 
distance  of  about  half  a  mile.  He  was  leaving 
the  landing  with  his  ox-teams  and  wagon,  with 
a  load,  when  a  terrible  rain  and  thunderstorm 
arose.  He  stopped  a  short  distance  from  the 
camp,  and  the  fifteen  people  who  accompanied 
him  crouched  under  the  wagon  considerably 
terrified.  Finding  there  was  no  abatement  of 
the  storm,  Brother  Rossiter  advised  them  to  take 
their  luggage  and  seek  better  shelter.  All  had 
gone  except  a  man  named  Day,  another  named 
Henry  B.  Whittall — formerly  assistant  editor  of 
the  Millennial  Star — and  a  young  woman  and  a 
boy.  William  was  in  the  act  of  raising  his  whip, 
and  was  about  to  say  "gee"  to  the  cattle,  when  he 
felt  a  sensation  as  if  he  was  whirling  round  like  a 
top,  and  then  he  became  unconscious.  When  he 
partially  recovered  he  found  himself  lying  upon 
the  ground,  abount  ten  feet  from  where  he  had 
been  standing,  with  his  head  between  the  wheels, 
When  he  rose  to  his  feet  he  staggered  about  for 
some  time.  He  was  shocked  to  discover  Whittall 
lying  with  his  head  under  the  wagon  quite  dead, 
and  Day  a  short  distance  away  in  a  dying 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  117 

condition,  while  the  young  woman  and  boy  were 
badly  hurt,  all  having  been  struck  by  lightning. 
His  own  escape  was  remarkable.  He  reached 
Utah  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  1862.  He  suc- 
cessively worked  at  farming,  teaming,  and  as 
driver  of  President  Young's  carriage.  Finally 
he  was  employed  as  his  agent,  had  charge  of  all 
his  outside  business,  and  is  still  employed  by 
his  estate.  While  in  prison  he  showed  himself 
to  be  remarkably  kind-hearted  and  obliging.  His 
height  is  five  feet  eight  inches,  he  is  of  spare 
build,  dark  complexion,  and  has  pointed  features. 

GEORGE  ROMNEY  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  guilty;  sentenced  October  10th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Dalton,  Lancashire,  Eng- 
land, August  14th,  1831 ;  was  baptized  when 
eight  years  old,  and  emigrated  to  Nauvoo,  Illinois, 
in  1841.  Was  driven  from  that  place  at  the  time 
the  Church  was  expelled;  came  to  Utah  in  the 
fall  of  1850.  He  is  a  contractor,  builder,  etc. 
He  is  five  feet  nine  and  a  half  inches  in  height, 
has  auburn  hair,  and  blue  eyes.  His  face  is 
large  and  carries  upon  it  a  reflective  expression. 
He  is  recognized  as  the  possessor  of  excellent 
business  ability,  which  has  enabled  him  to  reach 


118  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

a  considerable  degree  of  financial  prosperity. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  well-known  firm  of 
Taylor,  Romney  &  Armstrong. 

JOHN  NICHOLSON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation.  He 
declined  to  make  any  plea,  and  the  court  directed 
that  one  of  not  guilty  be  entered.  At  the  trial, 
in  order  to  save  members  of  his  family  from  being 
compelled  to  testify  against  him,  he  took  the 
stand  himself,  and  gave  evidence  for  the  prose- 
cution sufficient  to  insure  conviction,  making  it 
unnecessary  to  use  any  other  witness.  This  was 
the  first  case  in  which  this  course  was  taken.  He 
was  sentenced  by  Judge  Zane,  October  13th, 
when  he  addressed  the  court,  and  declared  his 
intention  to  be  true  to  his  religion,  his  family, 
and  his  conscientious  views  of  his  rights  under 
the  Constitution.  The  term  was  six  months ; 
fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  St.  Boswells, 
Roxburghshire,  Scotland,  July  llth,  1839 ;  joined 
the  Church  in  Edinburgh,  April  8th,  1861,  and 
came  to  Utah  in  1866.  His  height  is  five  feet 
eight  inches;  build,  slender;  hair,  eyes,  and  com- 
plexion dark ;  profession,  journalist. 

EMIL  OSCAR  OLSEN;    unlawful    cohabitation; 
plea  of  guilty;  sentenced  October  13th,  1885,  by 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  119 

Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  in  Christiania,  Norway, 
September  12th,  1849;  joined  the  Church  in 
1863,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1874.  He  resided  in 
Echo  four  years,  where  he  was  Counselor  to 
Bishop  Asper  a  year  and  a  half.  He  then  re- 
moved to  Salt  Lake  City.  He  is  a  tailor  by  trade. 
He  is  short  and  stout;  is  of  fair  complexion,  and 
has  sandy  hair.  He  is  genial  and  pleasant  to  a 
more  than  ordinary  degree. 

ANDREW  SMITH;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  not  guilty.  He  took  the  stand  and  testified 
against  himself.  Before  receiving  sentence,  which 
was  passed  October  13th,  1885,  by  Judge  Zane, 
he  briefly  addressed  the  court,  asserting  that  he 
did  not  purpose  under  any  circumstances  to 
renounce  his  religion.  He  was  born  at  Linester, 
Ayrshire,  Scotland,  February  28th,  1837;  joined 
the  Church  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  came  to  Utah  in  1856.  On  his  way  here  he 
crossed  the  plains  with  a  handcart  company 
numbering  about  six  hundred,  over  eighty  of 
whom  perished  on  the  journey.  On  account  of 
his  extraordinary  physical  strength  his  cart  was 
so  loaded  with  flour  and  other  people's  baggage, 
that  three  of  those  vehicles  drawn  by  him^broke 


120  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

down  with  their  burdens.  He  has  worked  in  the 
Temple  quarry,  and  at  various  kinds  of  canyon 
work.  He  had  charge  of  a  large  force  of  men 
engaged  on  Bishop  Sharp's  contract  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  U.  P.  R.  R.;  was  frequently  a  body 
guard  to  President  Brigham  Young,  and  at  his 
office.  He  has  been  on  the  regular  police  force  of 
Salt  Lake  City  fifteen  years,  besides  having  pre- 
viously performed  a  great  deal  of  special  police 
duty.  His  height  is  five  feet  ten  inches,  and  he 
iti  of  powerful  build.  His  complexion  is  what  is 
generally  denominated  sandy. 

AURELIUS  MINER;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  October  17th,  1885,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Woodbury,  Lichfield 
County,  Connecticut,  January  llth,  1832,  and  is 
a  nephew  of  the  late  Apostle  Orson  Hyde.  He 
came  to  Salt  Lake  City  in  1854,  arriving  Septem- 
ber lest  of  that  year,  the  object  of  his  trip  being 
to  visit  his  uncle,  by  whom  he  was  baptized  in 
February,  1858.  He  made  the  journey  across  the 
plains  in  the  merchant  train  of  Kinney,  Green 
&  Co.  Judge  Kinney,  the  then  newly  appointed 
Chief  Justice  of  Utah,  George  B.  Styles,  Associate 
Justice,  and  Joseph  Holraan,  U.  S.  District 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  121 

Attorney,  traveled  in  the  same  company.  Mr. 
Miner  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  National  College 
of  New  York,  rand  by  virtue  of  his  diploma,  as 
Bachelor  of  Laws,  was  entitled  to  practice  in  that 
State.  He  was  also  member  of  the  bar  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  and  of  the  State  of  Michigan. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  U.  S.  in  January,  1883,  and  up  to  a 
recent  date  was  the  oldest  practitioner  in  the  courts 
of  Utah,  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1854. 
Shortly  after  his  conviction  he  was  disbarred  by 
Chief  Justice  Zane,  the  grounds  stated  being 
moral  turpitude,  alleged  to  be  involved  in  said 
conviction,  and  because  he  reserved  the,  right  of 
opinion  regarding  the  constitutionality  of  any 
law,  and  would  not  promise  to  obey  the  Edmunds 
law  in  the  future.  He  is  of  medium  height, 
square  build,  fair  complexion,  and  has  a  round 
face  and  small  features. 

WILLIAM  1).  NEWSOM  ;  polygamy  and  unlaw- 
ful cohabitation;  plea  of  not  guilty;  sentenced 
October  17th,  1885,  by  Judge  Zane;  complete 
term,  three  years  and  six  months;  fine,  $800. 
He  was  born  in  Arklow,  County  of  Wicklow, 
Ireland,  February  21st,  1836.  He  was  baptized 
in  September,  18G2,  while  engaged  as  a  steamboat 


122  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

engineer,  on  Alago  Bay,  South  Africa,  and  came 
to  Utah  in  1865.  He  is  short  and  square,  has 
light  complexion,  and  prominent  features. 

LUCY  DEVEREUX,  his  plural  wife,  was  im- 
prisoned six  weeks,  with  her  infant  child,  in 
the  penitentiary,  for  declining  to  answer  Com- 
missioner McKay  and  the  grand  jury  certain 
questions,  one  of  which  was:  "Who  is  the  father 
of  your  child?" 

ROBERT  H.  SWAIN  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  guilty;  sentenced  November  2nd,  1885, 
by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  March  19th,  1836,  in  the 
County  of  Kent,  England.  He  wras  baptized  in 
1854,  in  Dover,  where  he  was  at  the  time  em- 
ployed as  a  policeman.  He  came  to  Utah  in  1865. 
He  is  six  feet  two  inches  tall,  and  weighs  one 
hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  He  has  fair  com- 
plexion, blue  eyes,  and  long  features. 

FRED.  H.  HANSEN  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
plea  of  not  guilty;  sentenced  November  5th, 
1885,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Lolland,  Den- 
mark, April  13th,  1845.  He  was  baptized  in 
1868,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1878.  He  is  short 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  123 

and  square,  and  has  a  round  or  broad  face.     His 
complexion  is  fair. 

THOMAS  PORCHER  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
plea  of  not  guilty;  sentenced  November  21st, 
1885,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,. six  months;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  in  Cambridge, 
England,  December  20th,  1839,  his  parents  being 
then  in  the  Church.  He  came  to  Utah  in  1861. 
He  was  formerly  a  printer,  but  is  now  a  tinner 
and  plumber.  He  is  somewhat  short  of  stature, 
and  unusually  round  in  form  and  feature. 

JOHN  W.  KEDDINGTON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  guilty;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  Nov- 
ember 21st,  1885;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300 
and  costs.  He  was  born  in  Leeds,  Yorkshire, 
England,  May  loth,  1850 ;  came  to  Utah  in 
1853,  having  consequently  been  reared  in  the 
Church.  His  principal  employment  is  that  of 
teamster.  He  is  also  a  musician,  and  has  played 
the  cornet  in  the  orchestra  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Theatre  for  four  years.  His  height  is  six  feet 
two  inches,  and  his  build  is  slender. 

HENRY  GALE  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty ;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Boreman,  December 


124  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

17th,  1885 ;  term,  six  months  and  $300.  He  was 
born  in  Box,  Wiltshire,  England,  October  18th, 
1818,  and  went  to  Australia  in  1839,  where  he 
joined  the  Church  in  1843.  He  emigrated  to 
San  Bernardino,  California,  in  1853,  and  came  to 
Utah  in  1857.  He  settled  in  Beaver,  and  has 
resided  there  ever  since.  At  the  time  of  sentence 
he  was  a  confirmed  invalid,  being  unable  to 
dress  or  undress  without  aid,  being  disabled  by 
chronic  rheumatism.  He  was  also  afflicted  with 
a  severe  rupture;  had  only  partial  control  over 
some  of  the  common  functions  of  the  body,  and 
was  almost  toothless.  Comment  upon  the  bar-1 
barity  of  incarcerating  him  is  unnecessary. 
When  asked  by  the  court  if  he  had  anything  to 
say,  he  declared  that  he  would  not  renounce  his 
religion  on  any  condition. 

CULBERT  KING,  Bishop  of  Marion  Ward,  Gar- 
field  County ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty;  sentenced  December  22nd,  1885,  by  Judge 
Borernan;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
He  was  born  in  Oswego  County,  New  York, 
January  31st,  1836.  He  was  baptized  when  ten 
years  old,  his  family  being  already  in  the  Church, 
when  on  the  way  from  Nauvoo,  with  the  exodus, 
to  Winter  Quarters,  in  1846.  He  came  to  Utah 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  125 

in  1851  and  settled  in  Fillmore.  He  is  a  farmer 
and  stockraiser.  He  is  a  large  man,  being  over 
six  feet  in  height,  and  long  featured. 

JAMES  E.  TWICHEL  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  not  guilty.  He  had  two  trials,  the  jury 
having  hung  on  the  first,  but  were  unanimous 
for  conviction  on  the  second.  He  was  sentenced, 
by  Judge  Boreman,  December  22nd,  1885;  term, 
six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born 
near  Lacomb,  Illinois,  October  19th,  1854,  and 
came  to  Utah  in  1848.  He  left  the  Territory  and 
went  to  California  in  1849  and  returned  in  1858. 
He  settled  on  Indian  Creek,  near  Beaver,  and 
has  resided  there  ever  since. 

DAVID  M.  STUART  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  guilty;  sentenced,  by  Judge  O.  W.  Powers, 
January  4th,  1885;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300 
and  costs.  He  was  born  in  Irvine,  Ayrshire, 
Scotland,  March  8th,  1826 ;  baptized  at  Paisley, 
May  5th,  1842;  came  to  America  in  1845,  and 
reached  Utah  in  1847.  He  has  been  on  five 
missions  to  the  States,  and  one  to  Great  Britain. 
He  is  an  old  resident  of  Ogden.  He  is  of  medium 
height,  rather  long  face,  and  promineht  features. 


126  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

JAMES  H.  NELSON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  guilty ;  sentenced,  by  Judge  0.  W.  Powers, 
January  8th,  1886 ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300 
and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Jacksonville,  Morgan 
County,  Illinois,  March  28th,  1839,  his  parents 
being  at  that  time  in  the  Church.  He  was  bap- 
tized at  the  age  of  eight  years,  and  was  in  Nauvoo 
in  his  childhood,  and  left  there  at  the  time  of  the 
general  expulsion  of  the  Saints.  He  came  to 
Utah  in  September,  1852,  and  has  resided  there 
permanently.  He  is  a  real  estate  agent.  He  is 
short  of  stature,  round  and  stout.  His  com- 
plexion is  fair,  and  his  face  large. 

WILLIAM  WALLACE  WILLEY  ;  unlawful  co- 
habitation ;  plea  of  guilty ;  sentenced  February 
10th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane ;  term,  five  months ; 
fine,  $200  and  costs.  He  was  born  in  Hancock 
County,  Illinois,  October  20th,  1841,  his  parents 
being  then  in  the  Church.  The  family  removed 
to  Nauvoo,  and  were  expelled  with  the  main 
body  of  the  Saints.  They  were  very  destitute 
at  Council'  Bluffs,  yet  William's  father  was 
drafted  into  the  Mormon  Battalion  and  accom- 
panied it  on  its  eventful  expedition.  William 
came  to  Utah  in  1851,  and  has  ever  since  resided 
at  Bountiful.  His  case  was  the  first  of  its  class 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  127 

from  Davis  County.  His  height  is  five  feet  nine 
inches,  and  his  build  is  heavy.  His  complexion 
is  medium,  face,  head,  and  features  round. 

JOHN  PENMAN  ;  polygamy ;  plea  of  not  guilty ; 
sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  February  10th,  1886 ; 
term,  two  years;  fine,  $25  and  costs.  He  was 
born  at  Crossgates,  near  Dumfermline,  Scotland, 
February  1st,  1835.  He  was  baptized  in  July, 
1862.  He  came  to  Utah  in  1863;  is  a  resident  of 
Bountiful,  Davis  County,  and  follows  the  business 
of  market  gardener  and  farmer.  He  is  over  the 
medium  height,  bony  and  slender;  has  dark 
eyes  and  complexion. 

ROBERT  MORRIS  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  guilty;  sentenced,  February  loth,  1886,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $150  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Barrowden,  Rutland, 
England.  His  mother  being  already  in  the 
Church,  he  was  baptized  November  28th,  1852. 
He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1860,  and  re- 
sided in  Cincinnati  one  year,  coming  to  Utah 
in  1861.  He  is  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
by  trade  a  tanner,  being  a  member  of  a  thrifty 
firm  doing  business  in  that  line.  He  has  been 
Counselor  to  Bishop  McRae,  of  the  Eleventh 


128  tJTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

Ward,  since  August,  1877.  He  is  of  slender 
build,  but  large  of  stature,  his  height  being  six 
feet  two  inches.  His  complexion  is  fair,  and 
features  unusually  prominent,  and  his  eyes  are 
full,  kindly,  and  expressive. 

JOHN  BOWEN;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea  of 
not  guilty;  testified  against  himself;  sentenced, 
by  Judge  Zane,  February  17th,  1886;  term,  six 
months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at 
Abersychan,  Wales,  September  12th,  1841,  and 
joined  the  Church  in  1853 ;  came  to  Utah  in 
1862 ;  resided  in  Salt  Lake  City  four  years  and 
in  Tooele  for  the  last  twenty  years.  He  is  by 
trade  a  gardener,  besides  being  a  musician,  both 
in  the  vocal  and  instrumental  branches  of  the 
art.  His  height  is  five  feet  eight  inches;  his 
hair  and  eyes  are  dark  and  complexion  sallow 
He  is  of  spare  build,  and  his  features  are  long. 
He  helped  to  lighten  the  hours  of  imprisonment 
by  teaching  the  divine  art  to  a  number  of  con- 
victs organized  into  a  choir,  which  occasionally 
assisted,  in  a  musical  capacity,  at  the  Sunday 
religious  services. 

THOMAS  BUKNINGHAM  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;   sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane, 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

February  17th,  1S8H ;  term,  six  months ;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Farnham, 
Surrey,  England,  September  18th,  1842 ;  joined 
the  Church  in  1857 ;  came  to  Utah  in  1860,  and 
settled  in  Bountiful,  Davis  County.  He  follows 
the  business  of  market  gardener. 

W.  G.  SAUXPERS;  unlawful  cohabitation;  two 
indictments ;  arraigned  on  one ;  plea  of  guilty ; 
sentenced  February  16th,  1886,  by  Judge  0.  W. 
Powers ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $25  and  costs. 
He  was  born  at  Soham,  Cambridgeshire,  Eng- 
land, January  10th,  1819 ;  joined  the  Church  in 
1852;  came  to  the  United  States,  stayed  in  St. 
Louis  one  year,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1854.  He 
is  a  resident  of  Weber  County.  He  is  short  of 
stature  and  stout  build.  On  Wednesday,  May 
19th,  1886,  having  been  taken  out  of  the  peni- 
tentiary to  Ogden  on  purpose,  he  was  arraigned 
on  the  second  indictment,  and  pleaded  guilty. 
Judge  Powers  imposed  an  additional  penalty  of 
six  months'  imprisonment. 

SAMUEL  H.  B.  SMITH  ;  unlawful  cohabitation : 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  sentenced  February  20th , 
1886,  by  Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Shady  Grove, 

9 


130  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

Davis  County,  Missouri,  in  1838,  and  is  the  son 
of  Samuel  Smith  and  nephew  of  the  Prophet 
Joseph.  A  few  days  after  his  birth  the  family 
were  driven  out  of  their  home  by  a  mob,  the 
consequence  being  that  his  mother,  owing  to  the 
exposure  endured  under  such  critical  circum- 
stances, contf  acted  a  severe  illness  from  which  she 
never  recovered.  Samuel  spent  his  early  Child- 
hood in  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  from  whence  he  was 
driven  at  the  time  of  the  general  expulsion.  He 
came  to  Utah  with  the  Church  in  1848.  He 
is  of  prodigious  size,  being  six  feet  two  inches  in 
height,  and  turns  the  scales  at  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  His  physical  strength  is  com- 
mensurate to  his  bulk.  His  complexion  is  fair, 
and  his  features  are  large. 

JOSEPH  McMuRRiN ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
plea  of  not  guilty.  The  defendant  took  the  stand 
and  testified  against  himself.  Sentenced,  by 
Judge  Zane,  February  23rd,  1886 ;  term,  six 
months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born 
July  14th,  1821,  near  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and 
joined  the  Church  in  1854.  He  came  to  Utah  in 
1856,  and  suffered  considerable  hardship  on  the 
journey  over  the  plains.  His  height  is  five  feet 
ten  inches,  and  his  build  is  square  and  heavy. 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

His  features  are  broad,  complexion  fair,  with 
blue  eyes.  He  is  a  cooper  by  trade,  but  has  no^ 
worked  at  that  business  for  a  good  many  years. 
He  is  the  embodiment  of  honesty  and  sincerity. 

HENRY  DINWOODEY;  unlawful  cohabitation;  plea 
of  guilty ;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  February 
23rd,  1886;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Warrington,  England, 
September  llth,  1825.  He  joined  the  Church 
in  1847;  emigrated  to  America  in  1849.  He 
stopped  six  months  at  New  Orleans,  and  after 
that,  until  1852,  at  St.  Louis,  when  he  came 
to  Utah.  He  has  pursued  the  business  of 
manufacturing  and  dealing  in  furniture,  and 
has  taken  the  lead  in  those  lines,  there  being  no 
establishment  in  Utah  to  be  compared  to  his  in 
extent.  He  is  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and 
of  full  habit.  His  complexion  is  fair  and  eyes 
blue.  His  head  and  face  are  large ;  the  features 
being  somewhat  rounded,  rather  than  sharp. 

AMOS  MAYCOCK;  unlawful  cohabitation;  de- 
fendant declined  to  plead;  court  entered  a  plea 
of  not  guilty  for  him.  He  took  the  stand  and 
testified  against  himself.  Sentenced,  by  Judge 
Powers,  February  25th,  1886 ;  term,  five  months ; 


132  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

fine,  $100  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  a  hamlet, 
called  Ashorne,  in  Warwickshire,  England,  May 
1st,  1836 ;  joined  the  Church  in  1848  ;  emigrated 
to  Council  Bluffs  in  1849,  and  came  to  Utah  in 
1852.  He  lived  at  Springville  six  years,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  time  of  his  residence  in  Utah, 
at  North  Ogden.  He  is  a  farmer.  He  is  con- 
spicuous, because  of  his  size,  being  six  feet  three 
inches  high,  and  of  ponderous  frame.  His  weight 
is  about  two  hundred  pounds.  He  has  a  large 
head,  and  an  unusually  long  face,  the  features 
tending,  of  course,  in  the  same  direction.  His 
hair  and  beard,  when  the  latter  is  allowed  to 
appear,  are  red,  or  of  that  color  sometimes 
denominated  sandy.  On  Wednesday,  May  19th, 
1886,  while  serving  his  term  on  the  first  convic- 
tion, he  was  arraigned  in  the  First  District  Court, 
at  Ogden,  on  the  second  indictment.  The  proceed- 
ings resulted  in  the  imposition  of  another  sen- 
tence to  imprisonment  for  RX  months,  by  Judge 
Powers. 

HELON  H.  TRACY  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one;  plea  of  not 
guilty.  He  took  the  witness'  stand  and  testified 
against  himself.  He  was  sentenced  February 
25th,  1886,  by  Judge  Powers,  who  said  on  the 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  133 

occasion :  "  There  is  no  power  on,  under,  or  above 
the  earth  that  can  stop  these  prosecutions."  Term, 
six  months ;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born 
at  Council  Bluffs,  Iowa,  February  25th,  1849,  his 
parents  being  in  the  Church  at  the  time,  and 
among  those  who  were  expelled  from  Nauvoo. 
He  came  to  Utah  in  1850,  and  has  resided  in 
Weber  County  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  months.  His  height  is  five  feet  ten  inches, 
and  build  slender.  His  complexion  is  fair,  and 
featur.es  small ;  hair  sandy.  His  trade  is  car- 
penter. He  was  taken  to  Ogden  on  May  19th, 
1886,  while  serving  his  term  in  the  penitentiary, 
arraigned  on  the  second  indictment,  resulting  in 
Judge  Powers  inflicting  another  sentence  of 
imprisonment  for  six  months.  The  inhumanity 
of  the  proceeding  is  intensified  by  the  fact  that 
Brother  Tracy  is  an  invalid,  suffering  from  con- 
sumption. 

CHARLES  H.  GREENWELL;  unlawful  cohabita- 
tion ;  plea  of  not  guilty ;  testified  against  himself. 
Sentenced,  by  Judge  Powers,  February  25th,  1880; 
term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  His 
parents  were  in  the  Church  at  the  time  of  his  birth, 
which  occurred  at  Philadelphia,  Pennyslvania, 
October  28th,  185(5.  He 'came  to  Utah  in  1859. 


134  UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  f 

He  has  been  engaged  in  the  butcher  business 
with  his  father.  He  is  six  feet  in  height,  and  of 
spare  build ;  his  complexion  is  dark  and  features 
sharp. 

HUGH  S.  GOWANS  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  not  guilty;  he  testified  against  himself;  sen- 
tenced February  26th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane; 
term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  There 
being  three  indictments,  two  were  held  over  for 
future  use.  He  was  born  in  Perth,  Scotland, 
in  February,  1832,  and  joined  the  Church  in 
August,  1850;  came  to  Utah  in  1855,  and  has 
ever  since  resided  in  Tooele  County,  being  now 
President  of  the  Stake  known  by  that  name. 
He  has  occupied  at  different  times  the  position  of 
Probate  Judge,  Deputy  County  Clerk,  Deputy 
Recorder,  and  telegraph  operator.  He  is  of 
medium  height  and  proportionate  build.  His 
hair  and  complexion  are  dark. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  LEE  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
plea  of  not  guilty ;  took  the  stand  and  testified 
against  himself;  sentenced  February  26th,  1886, 
by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300 
and  costs.  He  was  born  of  Latter-dav  Saint 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  135 

parents,  at  Liberty,  Clay  County,  Missouri,  August 
9th,  1836,  The  family  passed  through  all  the 
terrible  persecutions  in  Missouri  and  in  Nauvoo^ 
which  place  they  left  at  the  time  of  the  expulsion. 
He  came  to  Utah  in  1850,  and  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous resident  of  Tooele  County  ever  since. 
He  is  a  farmer;  is  six  feet  in  height,  and  tips 
the  scales  at  two  hundred  and  forty  pounds,  his 
frame  being  unusually  large,  as  are  also  his  head 
and  face.  His  hair  and  complexion  are  dark. 
He  has  been  Sheriff  of  Tooele  County. 

HERBERT  J.  FOULGER  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
three  indictments,  but  tried  x>n  one  only,  the  two 
others  being  held  in  reserve.  Plea  of  not  guilty ; 
testified  against  himself;  sentenced  February 
26th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months; 
fine,  $300.  He  was  born  in  London,  England, 
January  10th,  1848 ;  joined  the  Church  October 
23rd,  1862,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1863.  He  has 
followed  the  trade  of  carpenter,  book-keeper,  and 
has  been  more  lately  superintendent  of  a  co- 
operative store.  He  has  been  for  a  number  of 
years  a  Counselor  in  the  Bishopric  of  the  Twenty- 
first  Ward,  Salt  Lake  City.  He  is  short  of 
stature  and  stout  build.  His  hair  and  complexion 
are  fair. 


JoG  UTAH    PENITENT! A  II Y. 

JOHN  P.  BALL  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  pica 
of  not  guilty;  supplied  the  testimony  for  self- 
conviction  ;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  February 
27th,  1886;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Claughton,  Leicestershire, 
England,  October  4th,  1828 ;  joined  the  Church 
in  1860 ;  came  to  Utah  in  1862.  He  is  somewhat 
tall  and  spare,  and  complexion  dark.  He  is  a 
resident  of  Salt  Lake  City. 

THOMAS  C.  JONES  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  one,  the  others  being  held 
in  reserve ;  plea  of"  not  guilty ;  testified  against 
himself;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  February 
27th,  1886;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  in  Birmingham,  England, 
February  llth,  1825;  joined  the  Church  October 
25th,  1848;  came  to  Utah  in  1868.  He  is  a  brush- 
maker  ;  is  short  of  stature,  and  fair  complexion. 

JOHN  Y.  SMITH  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  not  guilty ; 
regular  trial;  sentenced  February  27th,  1886,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  at  Johnston,  Renfrewshire, 
Scotland,  October  20th,  1833 ;  joined  the  Church 
in  1852,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1857,  in  a  hand 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  137 

cart  company,  under  the  supervision  of  Captain 
Raleigh,  of  American  Fork.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Salt  Lake  City  police  force  since 
1869.  He  has  held  the  position  of  Counselor  in 
the  Third  Ward  Bishopric  since  1877.  His 
height  is  five  feet  ten  inches,  and  his  build  is 
square  and  heavy.  Complexion  sandy. 

.  JAMES  MOYLE  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  -one;  plea  of  not  guilty; 
testified  against  himself;  sentenced  March  1st, 
1886,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Rosemeln, 
Cornwall,  England,  October  31st,  1835 ;  joined 
the  Church  in  February,  1852,  at  Devonport, 
England ;  came  to  Utah  in  1854.  He  is  a  mason, 
and  is  foreman  of  the  builders  and  stonecutters 
on  the  Temple  Block,  Salt  Lake  City.  His 
height  is  five  feet  ten  inches;  complexion  dark. 
Before  his  incarceration  his  face  was  adorned 
with  a  handsome  flowing  beard. 

GEORGE  H.  TAYLOR  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one ;  supplied  the 
testimony  to  convict  by  going  upon  the  witness 
stand ;  sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  March  1st, 
1886;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 


138  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

He  was  born  at  Bloomfield,  Essex  County,  N.  Y., 
November  4th,  1829 ;  joined  the  Church  at 
Haverstraw,  Rockland  County,  N.  Y.,  September 
22nd,  1848;  came  to  Utah  in  1859.  He 
has  been  Counselor  in  the  Bishopric  of  the 
Fourteenth  Ward  for  a  number  of  years.  He  is 
rather  short  of  stature  and  spare  build.  His 
complexion  is  dark.  He  is  a  lumber  merchant, 
wood- worker,  etc.,  and  has  an  excellent  reputa- 
tion for  business  energy  and  ability.  He  is 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Taylor,  Romney  & 
Armstrong. 

O.  F.  DUE  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea  of 
guilty;  sentenced  March  1st,  1886,  by  Judge 
Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs. 
He  was  born  at  Slemminge,  Maribo  County, 
Denmark,  September  15th,  1836  ;  joined  the 
Church  in  1869;  came  to  Utah  in  1872.  His 
height  is  medium  and  complexion  fair.  He  is  a 
gardener. 

JAMES  0.  POULSON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  guilty  ; 
sentenced,  by  Judge  Zane,  March  1st,  1886 ; 
term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He 
was  born  at  Malma,  Sweden,  July  7th,  1826 ; 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  139 

joined  the  Church  in  1871,  and  came  to  Utah  tho 
same  year.  He  is  a  farmer ;  height  medium : 
complexion  dark ;  build  rather  stout ;  face  and 
features  round ;  resident  of  West  Jordan. 

SAMUEL  F.  BALL  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  not  guilty  : 
testified  against  himself;  sentenced  March  1st, 
1886,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  at  Stockcross, 
Berks,  England,  April  14th,  1849;  joined  the 
Church  July  6th,  1877 ;  came  to  Utah  in  1881 ; 
he  is  short  and  spare;  complexion  light;  face 
somewhat  thin?  He  is  by  trade  a  confectioner. 

HYRUM  GOFF  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  not  guilty ; 
supplied  the  testimony  for  his  own  conviction  ; 
sentenced  by  Judge  Zane,  March  3rd,  1886 ; 
form,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was 
born  at  Longwhatton,  Leicestershire,  England, 
July  29th,  1849,  his  parents  being  then 'in  the 
Church ;  came  to  Utah  in  1862.  He  is  about 
five  feet  seven  inches  in  height,  has  brown  hair, 
brownish  grey  eyes,  and  florid  complexion.  He 
is  of  rather  slender  build  and  genteel  appearance. 
He  is  a  resident  of  West  Jordan. 


140  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

WILLIAM  JENKINS;  unlawful  cohabitation;  frwo 
indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  not  guilty ; 
supplied  the  testimony  for  the  prosecution  from 
his  own  lips;  sentenced  March  3rd,  1886,  by 
Judge  Zane;  term,  six  months;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  in  Nauvoo,  Hancock  County, 
Illinois,  September  1st,  1841,  his  parents  being  in 
the  Church ;  driven  out  at  the  time  of  the  general 
expulsion ;  came  to  Utah  in  1863.  His  height  is 
about  five  feet  eight  inches ;  hair,  light  brown ; 
complexion,  florid  ;  build  strong  and  square  ; 
farmer ;  resident  of  West  Jordan. 

FREDERICK  A.  COOPER;  unlawM  cohabitation; 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one ;  plea  of  not  guilty ; 
voluntarily  supplied  the  testimony  for  the  prose- 
cution; sentenced  March  8th,  1886,  by  Judge 
Zane.  He  was  born  at  Godmanchester,  Hunt- 
ingdonshire, England ;  joined  the  Church  in 
1849,  his  parents  being  already  connected  with 
it.  He  came  to  Utah  in  1859  in  a  hand  cart 
company,  and  pulled  one  of  those  vehicles  over 
the  plains.  His  height  is  five  feet  eight  inches; 
hair  brown,  complexion  unusually  florid;  eyes, 
grey.  His-build  is  stout,  inclining  to  corpulency. 
He  has  followed  the  mercantile  business,  but  the 
prosecution  breaks  him  up. 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  141 

JOHN  W.  SNELL  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ;  three 
indictments,  tried  on  one;  plea  of  not  guilty; 
regular  trial ;  sentenced  March  9th,  1886,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs. 

[For  declining  to  answer  certain  questions  pro- 
pounded by  Commissioner  McKay,  examining 
magistrate,  and  subsequently  by  the  grand  jury, 
Eliza  Shafer,  Mr.  SnelPs  plural  wife,  was  sent  to 
the  penitentiary  in  September,  1885,  and  re- 
mained there  imprisoned  over  three  months.  At 
the  trial  she  signified  her  willingness  to  go  to  the 
Detroit  House  of  Correction  for  a  term  of  years, 
an  alternative  threatened  by  the  court,  for  the 
same  reason.  At  the  request  of  her  husband, 
however,  she  answered  the  questions.] 

John  W.  Snell  was  born  at  La  Harpe,  Hancock 
County,  Illinois,  March  2nd,  1842.  His  mother 
being  in  the  Church  while  he  was  in  boyhood, 
he  became  a  member  at  an  early  age;  came  to 
Utah  in  1857,  and  has  principally  resided  in 
Salt  Lake  City.  His  height  is  five  feet  six  inches; 
heavy  build,  large  face  and  features;  blueish 
grey  eyes.  In  conversation  his  utterance  is  un- 
usually rapid,  and  he  has  a  notable  faculty  of 
touching  upon  a  good  many  branches  of  a  subject 
in  a  surprisingly  brief  space  of  time.  He  has  the 


142  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

reputation  of  being  greatly  given  to  trading,  that 
being  his  principal  occupation. 

LORENZO  SNOW,  one  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  of 
the  Church,  entered  the  penitentiary  March  12th, 
1886.  Three  indictments  having  been  found 
against  him  by  the  grand  jury  of  the  First  Dis- 
trict Court,  for  unlawful  cohabitation,  he  plead 
not  guilty  to  each.  There  were  three  regular 
trials,  conviction  being  the  result  in  each  case. 
He  was  sentenced  by  Judge  0.  W.  Powers,  January 
16th,  1886,  the  judgment  being  the  full  penalty 
of  the  law — imprisonment  for  six  months  and  a 
fine  of  $300  and  costs  under  each  conviction. 
The  defendant  took  an  appeal  to  the  Territorial 
Supreme  Court  and  was  in  the  meantime  allowed 
to  remain  at  large  under  bonds.  The  decision  of 
the  Territorial  Supreme  Court  confirmed  the 
judgment  of  the  lower  court,  Chief  Justice  Zane 
concurring  with  Associate  Justices  Boreman  and 
Powers  in  the  first  case,  but"  dissenting  from  them 
in  the  other  two.  The  two  Associate  Justices  held 
that  unlawful  cohabitation  was  proved — in  the 
absence  of  any  other  evidence — when  it  was  shown 
that  the  defendant  had  lived  with  a  plural  wife 
while  he  had  a  legal  wife  living  and  undivorced. 
They  held  that  the  law  presumed  the  living  with 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

the  legal  wife.  In  this  view  Judge  Zane  did  not 
concur.  The  defendant  took  an  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  In  order  to 
have  the  cases  advanced  upon  the  calendar  of 
the  court  of  last  resort,  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  be  in  durance.  For  the  benefit  of  many 
of  his  brethren  who  had  been  indicted  and  others 
who  were  likely  to  be  under  the  "segregating" 
process,  he  elected  to  go  to  prison  to  have  the 
question  of  the  right  of  the  lower  courts  to  so 
construe  and  administer  the  law,  and  other  points, 
tested  as  early  as  practicable.  The  cases  were 
argued  and  submitted,  and,  on  May  10th,  1886, 
the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court  dismissed  the  cases  for 
want  of  jurisdiction.  To  make  a  show  of  con- 
sistency it  reconsidered  its  own  decision  in  the 
case  of  Angus  M.  Cannon,  formerly  disposed  of, 
repealed  its  mandate  therein,  and  treated  it  in 
the  same  fashion,  as  it  belonged  to  the  same 
class  of  cases  as  those  of  Lorenzo  Snow. 

Apostle  Lorenzo  Snow  was  born  April  3rd, 
1814,  at  Mantua,  Portage  County,  Ohio,  and  was 
consequently  on  the  verge  of  seventy-two  years 
of  age  when  he  entered  the  prison.  He  joined 
the  Church  in  June,  1836,  at  Kirtland,  Ohio,  and 
came  to  Utah  in  the  fall  of  1848.  His  place  of 
residence  is  Brigham  City,  Box  Elder  County. 


144  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

He  is  about  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and  of 
somewhat  spare  build,  his  normal  weight  being 
one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  His  complexion 
is  unusually  dark;  his  features  exquisitely 
modelled,  his  countenance  beaming  with  in- 
telligence. His  manner  is  affable  and  refined, 
those  who  come  in  contact  with  him  being  at 
once  impressed  with  the  fact  that  he  is  a  gentle- 
man and  a  scholar.  He  has  done  a  noble  work 
in  connection  with  the  Church.  It  is  not  in- 
tended to  give  any  of  the  details  of  it  here.  They 
are  published  elsewhere.  We,  however,  annex  the 
speech  made  by  him  in  the  District  Court,  when 
he  appeared  before  the  judge  to  receive  sentence. 
On  being  asked  whether  he  had  anything  to 
say  why  sentence  should  not  be  passed,  upon 
him,  Brother  Snow  read  the  following  : 

"  Your  honor,  I  wish  to  address  this  court 
kindly,  respectfully,  and  especially  without  giving 
offense.  During  my  trials,  under  three  indict- 
ments, the  court  has  manifested  courtesy  and 
patience,  and  I  trust  your  honor  has  still  a  liberal 
supply,  from  which  your  prisoner  at  the  bar 
indulges  the  hope  that  further  exercise  of  those 
happy  qualities  may  be  anticipated.  In  the  first 
place  the  court  will  please  allow  me  to  express  my 
thanks  and  gratitude  to  my  learned  attorneys  for 
their  able  and  zealous  efforts  in  conducting  my 
defense. 


UTAH    I'KMTKNTIAKY.  14.") 

"In  reference  to  the  prosecuting  attorney,  .Mr. 
Bierbower,  I  pardon  him  for  his  ungenerous 
expressions,  his  apparent  false  coloring,  and 
seeming  abuse.  The  entire  lack  of  evidence  in 
the  case  against  me  on  which  to  argue,  made  that 
line  of  speech  the  only  alternative  in  which  to 
display  his  eloquence ;  yet,  in  all  his  endeavors, 
he  failed  to  cast  more  obloquy  on  me  than  was 
heaped  upon  our  Savior. 

"  I  stand  in  the  presence  of  this  court  a  loyal, 
free-born  American  citizen ;  now,  as  ever,  a  true* 
advocate  of  justice  and  liberty.  '  The  land  of 
the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave,'  has  been 
the  pride  of  my  youth  and  the  boast  of  my  riper 
years.  When  abroad  in  foreign  lands,  laboring 
in  the  interest  of  humanity,  I  have  pointed 
proudly  to  the  land  of  my-  birth  as  an  asylum 
for  the  oppressed. 

"  I  have  ever  felt  to  honor  the  laws  and  institu- 
tions of  my  country,  and,  during  the  progress  of 
my  trials,  whatever  evidence  has  been  introduced, 
has  shown  my  innocence.  But,  like  ancient 
Apostles  when  arraigned  in  Pagan  courts,  and  in 
the  presence  of  apostate  Hebrew  judges,  though 
innocent,  they  were  pronounced  guilty.  So  myself, 
an  Apostle  who  bears  witness  by  virtue  of  his 
calling  and  the  revelations  of  God,  that  Jesus 
lives — that  He  is  the  Son  of  God ;  though  guilt- 
less of  crime,  here  in  a  Christian  court  I  have 
been  convicted  through  the  prejudice  and  popular 
sentiment  of  a  so-called  Christian  nation. 

"  In  ancient  times  the  Jewish  nation  and 
the  Roman  empire  stood  versus  the  Apostles. 

Now,  under  an  apostate  Christianity,  the  United 
10 


146  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

States  of  America  stands  versus  Apostle  Lorenzo 
Snow. 

"  Inasmuch  as  frequent  reference  has  been 
made  to  my  Apostleship,  by  the  prosecution,  it 
becomes  proper  for  me  to  explain  some  essential 
qualifications  of  an  Apostle. 

"  First,  an  Apostle  must  possess  a  Divine 
knowledge,  by  revelation  from  God,  that  Jesus 
lives — that  He  is  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 

"  Secondly,  he  must  be  divinely  authorized  to 
promise  the  Holy  Ghost ;  a  divine  principle  that 
reveals  the  things  of  God,  making  known  His 
will  and  purposes,  leading  into  all  truth,  and 
showing  things  to  come,  as  declared  by  the 
Savior. 

"  Thirdly,  he  is  commissioned  by  the  power  of 
God  to  administer  the  sacred  ordinances  of  the 
Gospel,  which  are  confirmed  to  each  individual 
.by  a  divine  testimony.  Thousands  of  people 
now  dwelling  in  these  mountain  vales,  who  re- 
ceived these  ordinances  through  my  administra- 
tions, are  living  witnesses  of  the  truth  of  this 
statement. 

"As  an  Apostle,  I  have  visited  many  nations 
and  kingdoms,  bearing  this  testimony  to  all 
classes  of  people — to  men  in  the  highest  official 
stations,  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  a 
President  of  the  French  republic.  I  have  also 
presented  works  embracing  our  faith  and  doctrine 
to  Queen  Victoria  and  the  late  Prince  Albert,  of 
England. 

"  .Respecting  the  doctrine  of  plural  or  celestial 
marriage,  to  which  the  prosecution  so  often  re- 
ferred, it  was  revealed  to  me,  and  afterwards,  in 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  1  17 

1843,  fully  explained  'to  me  by  Joseph  Smith, 
the  Prophet. 

"I  married  my  wives  because  God  commanded 
it.  The  ceremony,  which  united  us  for  time  and 
eternity,  was  performed  by  a  servant  of  God 
having  authority.  God  being  my  helper,  I  would 
prefer  to  die  a  thousand  deaths  than  renounce 
my  wives  and  violate  these  sacred  obligations. 

"  The  prosecuting  attorney  was  quite  mistaken 
in  saying  'the  defendant,  Mr.  Snow,  was  the  most 
scholarly  and  brightest  light  of  the  Apostles ;' 
and  equally  wrong  when  pleading  with  the  jury 
to  assist  him  and  the  'United  States  of  America,' 
in  convicting  Apostte  Snow,  and  he  'would  pre- 
dict that  a  new  revelation  would  soon  follow, 
changing  the  Divine  law  of  celestial  marriage/' 
Whatever  fame  Mr.  Bierbower  may  have  secured 
as  a  lawyer,  he  certainly  will  fail  as  a  prophet. 
The  severest  prosecutions  have  never  been  fol- 
lowed by  revelations  changing  a  divine  law, 
obedience  to  which  brought  imprisonment  or 
martyrdom. 

"  Though  I  go  to  prison,  God  will  not  change  his 
law  of  celestial  marriage.  But  the  man,  the  people, 
the  nation,  that  oppose  and  fight  against  this  doc- 
trine and  the  Church  of  God  will  be  overthrown. 

"  Though  the  Presidency  of  the  Church  and 
the  Twelve  Apostles  should  suffer  martyrdom, 
there  will  remain  over  four  thousand  Seventies, 
all  Apostles  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  were  these 
to  be  slain  there  still  would  remain  many  thous- 
ands of  High  Priests,  and  as  many  or  more  Elders, 
all  possessing  the  same  authority  to  administer 
Gospel  ordinances. 


148  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

"In  conclusion,  I  solemnly  testify,  in  the  name 
of  Jesus,  the  so-called  'Mormon  Church'  is  the 
Church  of  the  living  God;  established  on  the 
rock  of  revelation,  against  which  'the  gates  of 
hell  cannot  prevail.' 

"  Thanking  your  honor  for  your  indulgence,  I 
am  now  readv  to  receive  my  sentence." 


A  P.R  AM  H.  CANNON;  unlawful  cohabitation: 
plea,  not  guilty;  testified  against  himself  rather 
than  his  family  should  be  compelled  to  be 
witnesses  for  the  prosecution.^  He  was  sentenced 
March  17th,  188H,  by  Judge  C.  S.  Zane;  term, 
six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  made  a 
speech  in  court,  expressing  his  determination  not 
to  make  any  agreement  to  cast  away  his  family 
or  renounce  a  principle  of  his  religion.  He  was 
born  March  12th,  1850,  in  Salt  Lake  City,  where 
he  resides.  His  business  is  printer  and  publisher, 
besides  engaging  to  some  extent  in  literature. 
His  height  is  five  feet  ten  inches  and  proportion- 
ate build.  His  face  is  large,  intelligent,  and 
kindly,  and  complexion  light.  He  is  a  son  of 
President  George  Q.  Cannon,  and  one  of  the 
Seven  Presidents  of  Seventies.  He  filled  a  mission 
to  Europe,  partly  to  England  and  the  remainder 
in  the  Swiss  and  German  mission.  While  abroad 
he  acquired  the  German  language. 


TTAH    PENITENT! All  V.  149 

ROBERT  MCKENDRICK  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
two  indictments;  plea  of  guilty  to  one  indictment 
and  not  guilty  to  the  other.  Sentenced  March 
18th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane,  Third  Judicial  District; 
term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was 
born  August  26th,  1828,  at  Kinboo,  Antrim 
County,  Ireland;  joined  the  Church  December 
12th,  1852,  and  came  to  Utah  in  1859.  He  is  a 
resident  of  Tooele,  and  is  by  trade  a  butcher. 
His  stature  is  five  feet  four  inches,  and  his  build 
is  heavy,  his  weight  being  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  pounds.  His  complexion  is  light. 

LORENZO  D.  WATSON  ;  unlawful  cohabitation : 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one;  plea  of  not 
guilty.  The  defendant  supplied  the  testimony 
by  going  upon  the  stand  himself  for  the  prosecu- 
tion, acknowledging  his  wives  in  that  relation- 
ship, and  admitting  that  he  had  lived  with 
them.  He  was  sentenced,  by  Judge  J.  S.  Bore- 
man,  March  25th,  1886 ;  term,  six  months ;  fine, 
$300  and  costs.  He  was  born  in  Limerick, 
York  County,  Maine,  September  17th,  1845  ; 
joined  the  Church  in  July,  1868,  and  came 
to  Utah  the  same  year.  He  is  a  resident  of 
Parowan,  Iron  County,  and  follows  the  legal 
profession.  His  height  is  nearly  six  feet,  and 


150  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

build  spare,  his  normal  weight  being  one  hundred 
and  forty-five  pounds.     His  complexion  is  light. 

WILLIAM  GRANT  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ;  two 
indictments,  tried  on  one;  plea  of  not  guilty; 
took  the  stand  for  the  prosecution  against  him- 
self, acknowledging  his  wives  and  that  he  had 
lived  with  them;  sentenced  April  13th,  1886,  by 
Judge  0.  W.  Powers;  term,  four  months.  He 
was  born  at  Willenhall,  -Staffordshire,  England 
December  25th,  1838;'joined  the  Church  in  1851, 
and  came  to  Utah  in  1866.  He  is  a  resident  of 
American  Fork,  was  trained  in  the  trade  of  lock- 
smith, and  is  a  professional  music  teacher.  He 
is  short  of  stature,  being  only  five  feet  four  inches 
in  height,  and  of  spare  build,  his  usual  weight 
being  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  His 
complexion  is  medium. 

NEPHI  J.  BATES  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ;  plea 
of  not  guilty ;  took  the  stand  for  the  prosecution 
against  himself;  sentenced,  by  Judge  0.  W. 
Powers,  April  13th,  1886;  term,  three  months; 
fine,  one  dollar  and  costs  (the  costs  amount  to 
$293.70).  He  was  born  in  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
November  18th,*1848 ;  his  parents  being  then  in 
the  Church  he  was  reared  in  the  faith.  He  came 


UTAH   PENITENTIARY.  151 

to  Utah  in  1852,  and  is  a  resident  of  Monroe, 
Sevier  County.  His  profession  is  telegraphing. 
He  is  five  feet  nine  inches  in  stature,  and  of 
medium  build,  his  weight  being  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight  pounds.  His  complexion  is  light. 

JOHN  BERGEN;  unlawful  cohabitation;  two  in- 
dictments, one  having  four  counts;  plea  of  not 
guilty;  regular  trials;  convicted  on  both;  sentence 
on  indictment  with  one  count  still  pending.  Sen- 
tenced by  Judge  Zane,  April  26th,  1886;  term, 
six  months  on  each  count  (two  years),  and  $300 
and  costs  (aggregating  $1,200  and  costs).  Is 
also  under  indictment  for  polygamy.  He  was 
born  in  Christianstad,  Sweden,  June  22nd,  1822; 
joined  the  Church  in  June,  1855 ;  a  resident  of 
Salt  Lake  City,  and  by  trade  a  tailor. 

STANLEY  TAYLOR;  unlawful  cohabitation;  four 
indictments,  tried  on  one,  the  others  pending; 
plea  of  not  guilty;  testified  against  himself  by 
admitting  the  relationship  between  himself  and 
his  wives,  and  his  having  lived  with  them  in 
that  association.  Sentenced  May  10th,  1886,  by 
Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine,  $300  and 
costs.  He  was  born  January,  1838,  at  Bolton, 
Lancashire,  England ;  joined  the  Church  Nov- 


152  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

ember  21st,  1853 ;  came  to  Utah  September, 
18*60.  He  is  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
follows  the  business  of  hack  proprietor  and  driver. 
He 'is  short  of  stature  and  heavy  build.  His 
complexion  is  light. 

GEORGE  B.  BAILEY  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ; 
one  indictment;  plea  of  not  guilty;  regular  trial ; 
sentenced  May  10th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane ;  term, 
six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born 
February  15th,  1833,  in  Bath,  England;  joined 
the  Church  in  May,  1851 ;  came  to  Utah  in  1853, 
and  resides  at  Mill  Creek,  Salt  Lake  County.  He 
is  by  trade  a  cabinet  maker,'  but  does  not  follow 
that  pursuit,  being  employed  in  farming  and 
bee  culture.  He  is  in  stature  within  one  inch 
of  being  six  feet,  and  of  spare  build,  his  normal 
weight  being  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds.  His  complexion  is  light. 

ANDREW  JENSEN  ;  unlawful  cohabitation  ;  plea 
of  not  guilty ;  had  a  regular  trial ;  sentenced 
May  10th,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane;  term,  six 
months ;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  He  was  born 
March  8th,  1841,  in  Raadved,  Denmark ;  joined 
the  Church  in  1863 ;  came  to  Utah  in  1867 ;  and 
is  a  resident  of  Mill  Creek,  Salt  Lake  County. 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  1  5o 

He  is  a  farmer.     His   stature  is   five   feet   nine 
inches,  and  his  build  medium;  complexion  light. 

HENRY  W.  NAISBITT  ;  unlawful  cohabitation ; 
three  indictments,  tried  on  one  (the  first);  plea  of 
not  guilty ;  regular  trial.  He  requested  to  be 
given  some  time  between  conviction  and  sentence, 
to  enable  him  to  arrange  his  business  so  that  his 
family  might  not  have  to  suffer  during  his 
absence  from  them.  Prosecuting  Attorney  Dick- 
son  opposed  the  granting  of  the  request,  saying 
that  he  was  tired  of  such  delays.  The  court  there- 
upon used  its  discretion  in  declining  to  accede  to 
the  solicitation  of  the  defendant.  The  latter  was 
sentenced  May  llth,  1886,  by  Judge  Zane;  term, 
six  months;  fine,  $300  and  costs.  H.  W.  Xais- 
bitt  was  born  at  Romanby,  Yorkshire,  England, 
November  7th,  1827 ;  joined  the  Church  in  1851 ; 
came  to  Utah  in  1854.  He  is  a  resident  of  Salt 
Lake  City,  and  has  had  many  ups  and  downs  in 
business,  which  has  been  chiefly  in  the  mercan- 
tile -line.  Among  other  qualifications  he  pos- 
sesses are  those  of  being  a  facile  writer  and  fluent 
speaker.  His  complexion  is  light,  his  hair  and 
beard  having  been  originally  what  is  termed 
sandy,  but  are  now  somewhat  whitened  by  the 
effects  of  time.  His  height  is  about  five  feet 


154  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

eight  inches,  and  build  slender.  In  the  fall  of 
1878  he  returned  from  a  mission  to  England,  on 
which  he  was  absent  about  two  years. 

GEORGE  C.  LAMBERT;  unlawful  cohabitation. 
There  was  one  indictment  against  him,  but  it  con- 
tained three  counts,  during  the  time  covered  by 
two  of  which  (1883  and  1884)  the  defendant  was 
in  England  on  a  mission.  On  this  fact  being  repre- 
sented to  the  prosecuting  attorney  he  agreed  to 
prosecute  only  on  the  third  count,  and  asked  that 
the  jury  return  a  verdict  of  not  guilty  on  the  other 
two.  This  was  accordingly  done.  The  defendant 
pleaded  not  guilty,  and,  rather  than  permit  his 
family  to  be  brought  into  court,  gave  evidence 
against  himself,  acknowledging  his  relationship 
with  his  wives,  and  having  lived  with  them  in 
that  association.  He  was  sentenced  May  llth, 
1886,  by  Judge  Zane ;  term,  six  months ;  fine 
$300  and  costs.  Brother  Lambert  was  born  in 
"Winter  Quarters,"  April  llth,  1848,  and  came, 
or  rather  was  brought  to  Utah  in  1849,  and  is  a 
resident  of  this  city.  He  is  a  printer  and  journal- 
ist by  profession,  having  been  for  a  year  and  a 
half  prior  to  his  incarceration  upon  'the  editorial 
staff  of  the  Deseret  News.  He  is  over  medium 
height  and  stouter  than  the  average  build.  His 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  155 

complexion  is  light,  and  his  features  what  might 
be  termed  round  and  full ;  the  forehead  rather 
high  and  broad.  He  is  naturally  resolute  and 
courageous. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Conclusion. 

are  some  things  in  life  that  cannot 
be  learned  otherwise  than  by  experience. 
Among  these  are  the  sensations  produced  by  the 
process  of  being  placed  in  prison.  They  un- 
doubtedly vary  according  to  circumstances  and 
the  constitution  of  the  individual.  In  some  of 
its  aspects — with  special  reference  to  those  in- 
volved in  the  present  legal  and  judicial  persecu- 
tions of  the  Latter-day  Saints — it  provides  a 
graphic '  comparison  to  the  passage  through  the 
"dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death." 

The  conviction,  involving  the  certainty  of  de- 
parture from  the  outward  world,  stands  side  by 
side  with  the  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the 
stricken  patient,  who  feels  that  his  falling  into 
the  hands  of  the  grim-visaged  monster  is  inevit- 


156  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

able.  The  departure  of  the  victim  for  the  prison 
has  also  many  concomitants  in  common  with  the 
snuffing  out  of  the  lamp  of  life.  There  are  weep- 
ing loved  ones,  who  mourn,  with  bursting  hearts, 
because  of  the  temporary  separation  from  him 
who  perhaps  has  been  their  chief  earthly  comfort, 
reliance  and  source  of  strength.  With  him  the 
principal  regret — which  overtops  all  others — is 
for  those  whom  he  leaves  behind  while  he  is 
snatched  from  the  presence  of  social  and  domestic 
joys  to  suffer  temporary  death.  There  is  the  same 
swelling  of  the  heart  and  falling  of  the  sym- 
pathetic tear  when  the  name  of  the  absent  one  is 
mentioned,  and  the  vacanjt  chair  where  he  was 
wont  to  sit  is  regarded  with  the  same  veneration 
as  if  he  had  crossed  the  dark,  deep  river.  There 
is  the  same  hope,  in  a  less  extended  form,  of  a  lov- 
ing reunion  when  the  prison  doors  shall  open 
and  the  captive  be  set  free,  that  inspires  the 
deeply  religious  soul  who  looks,  "as  fond  antici- 
pation forward  points  the  view,"  to  the  never  fad- 
ing glories  of  the  resurrection  and  the  renewal 
in  eternity  of  those  sacred  associations  formed  in 
mortality,  under  the  seal  of  divine  recognition. 
In  the  captive's  mind,  when  he  enters  the  por- 
tals of  the  penitentiary,  there  is  perhaps  a  corres- 
ponding mental  vagueness  regarding  the  condi- 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  .157 

tions  into  which  he  is  about  to  be  ushered,  there 
being  an  air  of  mystery  in  the  minds  of  people  in 
the  outer  world  in  relation  to  prison  life.  There 
is  this  difference:  When  the  upright  man  whose 
conscience  is  void  of  offense  toward  God  or  man, 
is. about  to  pass  to  the  spirit  land,  there  are  no 
misgivings  as  to  the  betterment  of  the  conditions, 
while  no  matter  how  righteous  he  may  be,  he 
steps  upon  the  threshold  of  the  prison  with  a 
feeling  of  mingled  repugnance  and  misgiving,  no 
matter  how  stout  may  be  his  heart,  or  resolute  his 
purpose. 

To  the  independent  spirit  the  deprivation  of 
liberty  is  bitter  beyond  expression.  He  can  bear 
it  quietly,  nay  submissively,  but  while  there  is 
the  outward  indication  of  calm  subjection,  who 
can  tell  the  occasional  surging  within  the  sensitive- 
soul  who  prizes  freedom  and  fully  senses  the 
damning  crime  of  those  who  unjustly  placed  him 
within  the  hated  precincts  of  a  jail  designed  for 
those  alone  who  have  outraged  the  laws  of  nature 
and  of  nature's  God  and  whose  incarceration  is 
.properly  demanded  for  the  protection  of  their 
fellow  creatures  ?  Surely  an  inward  protest  against 
such  acts  is  not  an  offense  against  Omnipotence, 
for  he  who  is  for  conscience'  sake  confined  with 
felons  and  shut  out  from  liberty  says  to  himself: 


158  UTAH    PENITENTIARY. 

"Peace,  troubled  soul — be  still."   And  then:  "Not 
my  will  be  done,  0  God,  but  Thine." 

But  there  are  compensations  for  unjust  punish- 
ment and  indignities  heaped  upon  the  victims  of 
a  mistaken  as  well  as  cruel  policy  in  the  vain 
attempt  to  crush  religious  convictions  out  of  the 
hearts  of  a  devoted  people.  The  thoughtful  man, 
imprisoned  for  religion's  sake,  is  above  and 
beyond  contamination  by  contact  with  the  baser 
class  of  mortals.  His  liberty  is  taken,  but  while 
his  body  is  held  in  bondage,  no  power  can  pre- 
vent his  soul  from  soaring.  He  is  thrown  into 
close  association  with  a  phase  of  humanity  of 
whom  he  has  known  comparatively  nothing. 
No  other  condition  could  have  brought  about  the 
intermingling — it  had  to  be  enforced.  It  never 
could  have  been  induced  by  voluntary  action. 
Yet  who  shall  say  that  this  intimacy  with  the 
lower  degrees  of  humanity  is  not  necessary  to 
complete  a  fundamental  experience  requisite  to 
form,  the  basis  of  extensive  sympathy,  and  a 
broadened  range  of  thought?  It  is  learned  that 
many,  if  not  all,  unfortunate  creatures  have 
various  redeeming  traits.  Circumstances  call 
them  out,  when  they  shine  like  the  broad  Jight- 
ning  flashes  that  gleam  over  the  horizon  of  a 
midnight  sky.  It  is  found  that,  in  many  cases, 


UTAH    PENITENTIARY.  151) 

encouragement  causes  those  bright  scintillations 
to  become  more  frequent,  then  less  evanescent, 
until  the  conviction  ensues  that  in  most  instances 
the  heretofore  latent  spark  which  shed  the 
transitory  rays  is  susceptible  of  becoming,  by 
judicious  fanning,  a  steady  flame. 

This  fact  impresses  the  thoughtful  man  with 
the  sublime  truth  that  there  is  in  every  mortal, 
however  inflnitessimal  it  may  be,  a  spark  of 
divinity.  If  he  love  God,  he  will  love  him  whom 
God  so  loves  as  to  uphold  him  and  maintain  in 
his  soul  some  degree  of  the  light  that  emanates 
from  Himself.  A  new  lustre  breaks  in  upon  a 
keenly  perceptive  mind.  The  grand  truth  that 
God  is  the  father  and  creator  of  all,  has  greater 
potency,  and  a  deeper  desire  to  be  useful  to  the 
race  is  more  firmly  engendered. 

He  who  gains  this  experience  while  in  a  sense 
maintaining  a  position  above  and  beyond  that 
which  is  most  groveling,  goes  below  it,  in  order 
that,  with  an  increased  understanding,  he  may 
soar  more  loftily  above  it.  Heretofore  he  has 
only  been  familiar  with  the  topography  of  the 
sphere  of  human  life,  now  he  digs  deep,  reaches 
the  lower  strata,  comprehends  the  geological 
construction,  and  is  thus  better  prepared  to 
ascend  arid  explore  its  astronomical  or  celestial 


1(50  UTAH   PENITENTIARY. 

aspects.  With  his  new,  deeper,  and  broader 
understanding  he  emerges  better  prepared  for  the 
battle  of  life,  more  fitted  to  take  a  firm,  resolute 
stand  for  truth,  and  to  lend  an  abler  hand  in 
bettering  the  condition  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
The  prison  picture  is  not  all  gloom,  for  out  of  the 
darkness  the  light  is  seen  in  the  great  beyond, 
shining  with  increasing  splendor. 


